News Article

COLUMBIA, S.C.—The South Carolina Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel held its Inaugural CLE Series on March 19^th in Columbia, S.C. The ACC is the world’s largest community of in-house counsel, with more than 25,000 members in more than 70 countries. Attending this event were more than 50 in-house attorneys from some of South Carolina’s most prominent businesses. 
 

Among those asked to present at its first CLE was Attorney Sam Outten, a member of the Womble Carlyle’s business litigation practice group. Sam led a half hour long discussion on attorney-client privileges, under both federal and South Carolina law, and several recent developments in its application. Among the many topics discussed were the interplay between evidence rule 502 and the rules of discovery; the application of the privilege as it relates to employees and former employees of a corporation; several common mistakes that lead to waivers of the privilege; as well as several recent cases, including the Supreme Court’s decision in Mohawk Ind., Inc. v. Carpenter.

Also provided to attendees was an attorney-client privilege reference guide that outlined and expanded upon the presentation, including a section on federal rule of evidence 502 and recent case law interpreting this new rule. Click here to read the full text of Sam’s Attorney-Client Privilege report.

Sam Outten has been trying cases in South Carolina for almost 25 years and has been involved in a wide variety of litigation matters, including product liability cases, commercial litigation matters and the defense of professional negligence claims. During his career, he has tried more than 60 cases to a jury verdict. He practices in the firm’s Greenville, S.C. office.

Catherine Atwood and Mike Cashman, associates in the Business Litigation Practice Group, assisted Sam in preparing the presentation and the reference guide.