Opinion
21-cv-00136-EJD (VKD)
10-03-2022
SABRINA BELLE SHIRAZI, Plaintiff, v. NADER OWEIS, et al., Defendants.
ORDER RE AUGUST 29, 2022 DISCOVERY DISPUTE RE: DKT. NO. 79
VIRGINIA K. DEMARCHI United States Magistrate Judge.
As directed by this Court (Dkt. No. 84), on September 27, 2022 plaintiff submitted for in camera review a declaration of plaintiff's counsel Rachel Lederman. Having reviewed this submission, the Court finds as follows:
As of at least mid-April 2022, plaintiff's counsel had an attorney-client relationship with Neve Baker, Paloma Medina, and Anna Nisi. While the nature and scope of each attorney-client relationship was not identical in all respects, each representation shared a core common purpose. The 2-hour meeting that is the subject of the parties' dispute was held for the purpose of preparing Ms. Baker, Dr. Medina, and Dr. Nisi for their respective depositions. The meeting did not include a discussion of each client's anticipated deposition testimony. Rather, counsel provided legal advice generally on how to be a witness in a deposition, which was the same for each client. The only participants in the meeting were the three clients, two attorneys, and a legal consultant retained by plaintiff's counsel. The three clients expressed a preference for a joint meeting for purposes obtaining legal advice regarding deposition preparation. All participants agreed that their communications in the meeting would be confidential.
The Court concludes that plaintiff has shown that the communications exchanged during the 2-hour meeting are protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege, as Ms. Baker, Dr. Medina, and Dr. Nisi were jointly represented by plaintiff's counsel for the purpose of obtaining legal advice in preparation for their depositions. For this reason, defendants may not inquire about the substance of those communications. Defendants may, of course, inquire about any facts that bear on any matter in dispute in this action.
IT IS SO ORDERED.