Charles Caleb Colton once famously observed that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”1 One place where that maxim seems not to have worked out well (at least in one man’s opinion) is in the interpretation/application of the attorney-client privilege. Given the not so slow but steady erosion in that privilege,2 it has been disheartening to see a New York court recently reach out and imitate the courts of Ohio.
A number of years ago, Ohio took the lead of essentially eviscerating the attorney-client privilege in the insurance coverage context.3 Now, unfortunately, that bad seed has spread to New York and we appear to be following suit.4 As Don Corleone once plaintively asked: “How did things ever get this far?!”
