Opinion ID: 778068
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: LMs, Intra-divisional TAs, the Attorney Work Product Privilege, and the IRS Manual

Text: 20 FOIA Exemption 5 protects inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). The exemption allows an agency to withhold those materials that would be privileged from discovery in civil litigation. NLRB v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 421 U.S. 132, 149, 95 S.Ct. 1504, 44 L.Ed.2d 29 (1975). As such, it is interpreted to encompass, inter alia, three evidentiary privileges: the deliberative process privilege, the attorney-client privilege, and the attorney work product privilege. Burka v. HHS, 87 F.3d 508, 516 (D.C.Cir. 1996). 21 The District Court correctly found that LMs and intradivisional TAs do not constitute agency working law and are exempt pursuant to the deliberative process privilege. The District Court also correctly determined that the harm rule articulated in the Manual does not bind IRS or create rights in Tax Analysts. Finally, the District Court correctly determined that IRS need not segregate and release agency working law from TAs withheld in their entirety pursuant to the attorney work product privilege. Because the District Court's analysis and conclusions on these points are eminently sound, no further elaboration is necessary. We therefore affirm the District Court's judgment on these issues and adopt its reasoning and conclusions.