Washington, D.C. – TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of tech industry CEOs and senior executives, today filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Epic Games v. Apple. TechNet was joined on the brief by the Association of Corporate Counsel. The case, involving a dispute between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games, is on appeal from a district court ruling that improperly disregarded attorney-client privilege for in-house counsel. If allowed to stand, that ruling would threaten the viability of that privilege in the future. TechNet’s brief highlights the importance of innovators being able to rely on attorney-client privilege when they seek guidance from in-house attorneys to help them comply with applicable law and plan for the future.
“American businesses, especially small and midsize tech companies, rely on in-house counsel to navigate the fast-changing patchwork of state and federal laws governing emerging technologies,” said Drew Hudson, TechNet’s Vice President and General Counsel. “As startups scale, affordable and accessible legal guidance helps to ensure compliance, manage risk, and support innovation. Weakening attorney-client privilege for in-house counsel threatens to create new barriers to entry for small tech companies and chill efforts to obtain quality legal advice.”
As TechNet explained in the brief: “Start-ups often operate in fast-evolving areas like technology and life sciences, where in-house counsel are preferred because of their specialized knowledge, which can be crucial to navigating the ‘regulatory hurdles and approvals that are specific to that sector.’ . . . Courts should not adopt a regime that causes companies to curtail the information they share with in-house counsel to try to preserve ‘pure’ legal discussions.”
Read TechNet’s amicus curiae brief here. TechNet and the Association of Corporate Counsel are represented in this matter by the law firm of Boyden Gray PLLC.
About TechNet’s Innovation Legal Center
TechNet’s Innovation Legal Center (ILC) is the voice of the innovation economy in the federal and state courts and the broader legal community. The ILC works to advance pro-innovation laws and regulations through effective legal advocacy, including by representing TechNet in lawsuits challenging unlawful regulatory actions at all levels, by filing amicus curiae briefs in key litigation, by intervening to defend important pro-innovation laws against legal challenges, and by leveraging our legal expertise and analysis for the benefit of judges, lawmakers, and regulators. The ILC retains some of the nation’s top litigators and advocates, ensuring effective representation for the interests of American innovators. The ILC also works with advocates, researchers, and academics to improve understanding of legal issues that are important to fostering a climate of innovation and strengthening America’s competitiveness. Drew Hudson, TechNet’s General Counsel, leads the ILC.