Dual-role Employees
Dual-role Employees
A risk management position is an example of a role that, even when filled by a lawyer, frequently involves both legal and non-legal work. “Attorneys can be hired in a myriad of roles not requiring their status as attorneys,” says Richard T. Seymour, former chair of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law.
When determining whether a dual-role employee is acting as legal counsel and thus invoking attorney-client privilege protection, courts should focus on function more than a title. Status is not the same thing as role. While risk managers’ views may be partially influenced by their legal degrees, their employer is not necessarily looking for legal advice, as opposed to business advice.
Just because certain positions (like risk management positions) are not part of a company’s legal group and don’t require a law degree doesn’t necessarily reveal the employee’s accurate and complete role. Whether a dual employee is functioning as in-house counsel is not a bright-line test.
Rather than focusing on labels and bright-line tests, the emphasis should be on how the company utilizes risk management employees. There is a lot at stake in determining the applicability of privilege, so the focus should be on whether the company’s employees are reaching out to the risk management director to seek legal advice. Risk managers can deal with critical legal issues.
Bringing Risk Managers Within the Privilege
If the applicability of privilege to a risk management employee is driven by function rather than form, then companies should consider how to characterize and implement those functions. Companies should give serious thought to dual-role employees like risk managers. The intent to preserve privilege cannot be assumed—the company needs to be specific that legal advice is being sought.
Bringing risk management employees within the privilege requires planning and foresight. Place risk management departments under the supervision and control of their general counsel and have the general counsel issue instructions to them. Operational changes may also help a court see the department as more legal than business. These could include: (i) modifying risk managers’ job descriptions to state that the position will involve the company seeking legal advice concerning matters they handle; (ii) requiring risk managers to keep separate files for legal and non-legal matters, and (iii) limiting email discussions on legal matters only to those who need to be involved in legal discussions.