We see privilege issues discussed in judicial decisions, legal commentary, and mainstream news.  Here is a roundup of interesting 
privilege issues for January 2017.
- The California Supreme Court issued a significant ruling on the issue of whether the privilege protects the disclosure of lawyers’ invoices. Â Andrew Downs of San Franciso’s Bullivant firm authored an excellent analysis of the opinion, which you can review here.
- Jeffrey Willis, the alleged serial killer and so-called “Monster of Muskegon” who is awaiting trial for the murders of Jessica Heeringa and Rebekah Bletsch, claims that police and prosecutors took his attorney-client privileged notes from his jail jumpsuit. Â Willis’ attorney claims that a “first-year law student could figure that out” and is seeking a dismissal. Â Law professor Curt Benson disagrees, calling a dismissal “quite a stretch.” Â Story here.
- A Wall Street Journal report claims that “[t]ens of billions of dollars every  year move through opaque law-firm bank accounts that create a gap in U.S. money-laundering defenses.”  Law firms place clients’  money in their pooled, escrow or trust accounts, and claim that the attorney-client privilege protects client confidentiality.  Story here.
- Daniel Altchek of Baltimore’s Miles & Stockbridge firm published an excellent article in InsideCounsel titled “Keeping Your Investigations Privileged May Get You in Hot Water with the NLRB.” Â Check it out here.