US Department of Justice ‘taint teams’ pose privilege risks for defendants

Table of contents

• The DOJ’s use of taint teams
• Taint teams in the courts
• The Fourth Circuit tackles taint teams
• Looking forward
• Practical Advice
• Challenge the use of a taint team
• Challenge the taint team’s process

Article summary

Law360, Expert analysis: The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) new Special Matters Unit may resolve some of the concerns regarding the agency’s so-called taint teams reviewing potentially privileged material, but defence lawyers must stay vigilant as taint teams’ inherent conflict of interest remains, say Jim Brochin and Pat Linehan at Steptoe & Johnson.