Mixed reviews greeted the Department of Justice’s publication of new marching orders for federal prosecutors probing allegations of corporate wrongdoing.
Under the “McNulty Memo,” issued last week, U.S. attorneys are supposed to seek the approval of Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty before asking corporations to waive the attorney-client privilege or turn over sensitive documents that come under the umbrella of work-product protection. That policy overturns the much-criticized Thompson Memo, a policy established in 2003 that let prosecutors take a more muscular—defense lawyers would say abusive—approach to forcing cooperation.
