Congress Passes Legislation Creating New Evidence Rule

Here is an excerpt from an ABA Litigation Section news report on new Evidence Rule 502:

Last week, Congress approved legislation creating a new evidentiary rule to address disclosure of information protected by the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine. Proposed Rule 502 [PDF] of Federal Rule of Evidence is a direct response to the enormous cost of reviewing documents for privileged material, as well as concerns about conflicting rulings regarding inadvertent disclosures and the scope of privilege waivers.

The House of Representatives passed S. 2450 [PDF] on September 8, 2008, without amendment. The Senate had passed the bill by unanimous consent on February 27, 2008. Now that both chambers have approved the legislation, it awaits the president’s signature.