Waiver: The attorney-client privilege quandary

In May 2006, following a six-month stretch of intensive negotiations with federal prosecutors, the infamous securities class action law firm, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, refused to hand over confidential information traditionally protected under the deeply rooted attorney-client privilege. For this reason, Milberg Weiss claims it was indicted on 20 counts in a conspiracy for obstruction of justice, perjury, bribery, and fraud. In essence, Milberg Weiss and two of its partners, David Bershad and Steven Schulman, are accused of conspiring to kickback fees to plaintiffs in shareholder derivative and class action suits. Specifically, the government claims that the firm paid individuals more than $11 million to serve as plaintiffs in such suits and that the firm received more than $200 million in attorneys' fees from these actions.