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Responding to a Government Subpoena or RFI

By Pamela L. Johnston, Lisa M. Noller and Mary R. Conklin

In-house counsel have taken notice of the federal criminal indictment and trial of Lauren Stevens, former in-house counsel with a pharmaceutical company, on charges she obstructed justice and made false statements in the course of responding to government requests for information. She has now been acquitted after the court dismissed the charges during the trial. Nevertheless, her mere indictment should give all in-house counsel a moment of pause because it shows the government's willingness to prosecute any individual ' including an in-house lawyer representing a client ' whom it believes has knowingly misled an agency or obstructed an investigation.

Notably, this is not the first case in which the government charged an in-house attorney with obstructing justice, and it is unlikely to be the last. Four brief case studies illustrate the government's reactions when it does not receive what it believes it is entitled to in response to a request for information (“RFI”) or subpoena. Based on the government's actions, ordinary approaches to civil discovery are ill-fitting in response to a government agency's efforts to obtain information, and in-house counsel must take extra care.

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