What is the standard of conduct of an attorney in the context of privileged documents?
The following excerpt is from U.S. Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. Bay Club Fairbanks Ranch, LLC, Case No.: 3:18-CV-1853 W (AGS) (S.D. Cal. 2020):
An attorney fails to refrain from reviewing documents further than absolutely necessary to discover privilege when confidentiality becomes apparent, but counsel continues reviewing or using the documents regardless. See Rico, 42 Cal. 4th at 818. Additionally, an attorney acts improperly or fails to avoid the appearance of impropriety while reviewing obviously privileged documents when the attorney neglects to undertake reasonable remedial action or seek court guidance. See United States ex rel. Hartpence v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., 2013 WL 2278122 at *2 (C.D. Cal. May 20, 2013).
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