Lately the term “non-disclosure agreements” (or “NDAs”) have inundated the news. These secretive agreements are now forefront in headlines about Stormy Daniels’ alleged affair with President Trump and Uber’s evolving corporate culture in response to claims of sexual harassment and discrimination. This has left many non-lawyers wondering: why do parties enter non-disclosure agreements and how do these agreements work? NDAs are contractual agreements designed to keep specified information confidential. Such agreements list and/or describe the information prohibited from disclosure and the punishment for disclosing such information, often, a large sum of money known as liquidated damages. Generally, parties are free to enter a non-disclosure agreement regarding any information, except that…
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What You Need to Know about Attorney-Client Privilege and Michael Cohen
Dominating news headlines this week is the revelation of Michael Cohen’s third mystery client. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney’s home, hotel, and office were raided pursuant to a search warrant and his files were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In a hearing on Monday, a federal judge ruled that Cohen, could review the materials that the FBI seized, but did not rule on how prosecutors could use the evidence. Michael Cohen is currently under investigation by prosecutors “for criminal conduct that largely centers on his personal business dealings.” Ten boxes of paper files were confiscated along with computer hard drives and other electronic data storage devices. On…