Robert Whitman Published in New York Law Journal
“Ex Parte Contacts With an Adversary’s Former Employees”

Robert’s article, “Ex Parte Contacts With an Adversary’s Former Employees” was published in the June 20, 2007 issue of New York Law Journal. In it, Robert examines the May 8, 2007 New York Court of Appeals decision in Muriel Siebert & Co v. Intuit, Inc., in which the state’s highest court held that counsel in litigation may conduct ex parte interviews with former employees of his client's adversary, provided he does not seek or obtain privileged or confidential information from the former employee. The decision clarifies (somewhat) a heretofore unclear issue under New York law. The issue comes up quite often frequently, but by no means exclusively, in employment cases. Robert’s article discusses the court's decision, the legal and policy rationale on which it is based, and the relevant issues that remain unclear in the wake of the decision.