Upjohn Co. v. United States
- Decided
- January 13, 1981
- Docket
- 79-886
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 3,227 timesNo negative treatment found in this library
What later courts said
- holding that communications by corporate employees to counsel made in order to secure advice were protected — Marks v. Tenbrunsel (2005)
- holding that to extent not covered by attorney-client privilege, evaluation of witness statements protected by attorney work product doctrine — Sparton Corp. v. United States (1999)
- recognizing that confidentiality is essential to frank discussions between attorneys and clients or client's employees — In re American Airlines, Inc. (1992)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*386] Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
We granted certiorari in this case to address important questions concerning the scope of the attorney-client privilege in the corporate context and the applicability of the work-product doctrine in proceedings to enforce tax summonses. 445 U. S. 925. With respect to the privilege question the parties and various amici have described our task as one of choosing between two “tests” which have gained adherents in the courts of appeals. We are acutely aware, however, that we sit to decide concrete cases and not abstract propositions of law. We decline to lay down a broad rule or series of rules to govern all conceivable future questions in this area, even were we able to do so. We can and do, however, conclude that the attorney-client privilege protects the communications involved in this case from compelled disclosure and that the work-product doctrine does apply in tax summons enforcement proceedings.
I
Statutes cited
Cite this
Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383 (1981)Read the full opinion
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