The Joint Defense Doctrine in Federal Contract Litigation.

[10] Also referred to as the common interest rule, the joint defense doctrine/privilege is treated as an extension of the attorney-client privilege, protecting the confidentiality of otherwise privileged communications between separate parties and their attorneys as part of a joint defense effort. Intervenor's attorney-an experienced partner in a government contracts law firm-offers to make the firm's resources available to assist the agency in defending the protest and suggests entering into a joint defense agreement. Further, the court rejected defendant's argument that the disclosure of the Statement of Material Facts automatically waived the privilege.[43] Earlier cases have also found the joint defense doctrine to apply. Although each defendant had his own attorney, the three lawyers were collaborating in a joint defense. [Extracted from the article]