Ethics

Jasmine v. Marvell, one of the most discussed ethics cases in years, has been dismissed.  It's the case where the general counsel for the defendant telephoned the general counsel at the plaintiff, left a voicemail message, inadvertently didn't hang up, and then engaged in a group discussion that was left in the opposing lawyer's voicemail.  Depending on how you interpret the message it was either strategizing about the worst case scenario or an outright admission that the defendant had stolen trade secrets.  The trial court excluded the call from evidence, holding that the inadvertent act was not a deliberate waiver of the client's privilege.  But the intermediate appellate court ruled that the crime-fraud exception applied. The California Supreme Court took up the case, but it languished for years and then was sent back down without a ruling.  It now looks as if we won't get to hear what the two sides had to say about that (in)famous voicemail.