An opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday delivered a victory for attorney-client privilege, general counsel and arguably the written word.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh took a dispute that involved more than 10,000 documents and dispatched it in a simple seven-page order affirming the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in holding that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. does not have to surrender certain requested files to the Federal Trade Commission.