Opinion ID: 367258
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Validity of Sussman's Conviction

Text: 46 The attorney-work-product doctrine protects from disclosure materials prepared by an attorney acting for his client in anticipation of litigation. Hickman v. Taylor, 1947, 329 U.S. 495, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451. This doctrine is distinct from and broader than the attorney-client privilege, United States v. Nobles, 1975, 422 U.S. 225, 238 n. 11, 95 S.Ct. 2160, 2170, 45 L.Ed.2d 141; Hickman v. Taylor, supra, 329 U.S. at 508, 67 S.Ct. at 392; it protects materials prepared by the attorney, whether or not disclosed to the client, and it protects material prepared by agents for the attorney. United States v. Nobles, supra, 422 U.S. at 238-39, 95 S.Ct. at 2170 (investigator's report prepared for attorney in anticipation of litigation held protected work product). 47 It was merely a circumstance that Sussman, as an accountant, was employed to prepare financial analyses to assist the lawyer in assessing McCoy's potential criminal liability. The work was needed by McCoy's lawyer, and it might have been done by the lawyer himself or by an employee in his office if either had the necessary skill and time. The information sought was evidently material to McCoy's defense. Under these circumstances, the financial analyses prepared by Sussman were protected by the attorney-work-product doctrine. 7 48 Of course, the work-product-privilege protects only the fruit of Sussman's labor. It does not shield documents turned over to Sussman by McCoy that would have been subject to production if kept in McCoy's hands. The subpoena fails, however, to discriminate between these different types of documents. Paragraphs three, four and six of the Sussman subpoena could each be interpreted as including the financial analyses prepared by him. Paragraph three refers to financial statements and audit reports; paragraph four refers to schedules, records or documents pertaining to McCoy or his brokerage office; and paragraph six refers to records, documents, or journals reflecting amounts paid by or to McCoy or his brokerage office. These provisions do not limit the material sought to records Sussman received from McCoy. Thus, the subpoena is overbroad, and because compliance would have required Sussman irrevocably to surrender materials he was entitled to keep confidential, he is not properly subject to contempt for refusing to produce the documents requested. 49 For the foregoing reasons, the judgments of the district court are REVERSED.