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The NAM filed an amicus brief supporting employers’ rights to protect sensitive communications between employees and an employer’s counsel. This case involves an in-house investigation of tips alleging potential False Claims Act violations where, although the company provided 100,000 pages of documents during the discovery phase, the trial judge ordered that 89 documents identified as privileged be disclosed. If upheld, this precedent will penalize companies for adopting internal compliance programs and force companies to either risk a waiver of attorney-client privilege or to forego legal advice. The NAM’s brief argued that 1) a communication with counsel should be protected provided that the predominant or primary purpose of the communication is for securing legal advice; and 2) if these communications were to lose their privilege solely because they were part of a compliance investigation, “required by regulatory law’” many regulatory programs would be frustrated. In 2014, the appellate court overruled the trial court’s decision and ruled that the communications were protected by the attorney-client privilege. The trial court again ruled against the privilege assertions, and the NAM filed a second amicus brief in 2015 supporting mandamus to the appellate court. In a win for manufacturers, the appellate court reversed the district court for a second time.