Alex Sarria and Bradley Markano Advocate Changes to Ninth Circuit Test for Attorney-Client Privilege in Business Communications in Amicus Brief for the Atlantic Legal Foundation
Atlantic Legal Foundation
The Atlantic Legal Foundation (ALF) has filed an amicus brief – authored by Alex Sarria and Bradley Markano – in Epic Games, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., urging the Ninth Circuit to adopt the "significant purpose" test for attorney-client privilege. This standard protects communications serving both legal and business purposes. The litigation centers on Apple's App Store and whether internal communications that mix legal and business advice should be privileged. While the Ninth Circuit currently applies a "primary purpose" test – protecting only those communications where legal advice is the dominant purpose – ALF advocates for the more flexible DC Circuit’s "significant purpose" test (from In re Kellogg Brown & Root). By allowing predictable and appropriate protection for multi-purpose communications, the Kellogg test provides necessary assurances to in-house and outside counsel that their communications with company personnel about the legal implications of practical business issues will be protected.