The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Wednesday in RFF Family Partnership LP v. Burns & Levinson. The next day, the Supreme Court of Georgia issued a similar ruling in St. Simon’s Waterfront LLC v. Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn. Meanwhile, a case raising the same question against Davis Wright Tremaine was at the briefing stage before the Oregon Supreme Court.
In the Massachusetts case, the high court said the privilege applies when a law firm has designated in-house or ethics counsel within the firm. That counsel must have done no work for the client on matter at hand or any related matter, and no outside client may be billed for the consultations.
