Trusts and Estates
Ca. Trs. & Estates Quarterly 2021, Volume 27, Issue 4
Content
- Chairs of Section Subcommittees
- Editorial Board
- Foreseeable Monetization of Michael Jackson's Assets After Death: How To Value Copyrights of Musical Compositions and Rights of Publicity
- From the Chair
- From the Editor-in-chief
- Inside this Issue:
- Joint Representation and Advance Waivers
- King Lear and a Thousand Acres—Two Estate Planning Tragedies With Timeless Lessons For Modern Estate Planning Attorneys
- Litigation Alert
- Tax Alert
- Tips of the Trade: Real Property, Real Problems: a Practitioner's Guide To Dealing With Real Estate In a Probate
- To Protect and Serve - a Case To Abolish Attorney Work Product Protection As To Estate Planners' Files In Post-death Will or Trust Contests
TO PROTECT AND SERVE – A CASE TO ABOLISH ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT PROTECTION AS TO ESTATE PLANNERS’ FILES IN POST-DEATH WILL OR TRUST CONTESTS
By Ciaran O’Sullivan, Esq.* and Andrew Verriere, Esq.**
MCLE Article
I. INTRODUCTION
The seminal case of Hickman v. Taylor1 taught every law student that the work product doctrine protected an attorney’s efforts in preparing his or her case for trial, and otherwise prevented opposing counsel from taking advantage of an attorney’s industry and efforts. The doctrine has been codified in California to say almost precisely that. Originally considered protection for litigating attorneys only, case law in California has expanded the doctrine to protect the work product of transactional lawyers as well.