Upjohn Warning | Practical Law
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Upjohn Warning
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Upjohn Warning
Practical Law Glossary Item 5-501-8808
(Approx. 5 pages)
Glossary
Upjohn Warning
Also known as a corporate Miranda warning. The notice in-house or outside counsel provide a company employee to inform them that counsel represents only the company and not the employee individually (see
Practice Note, Internal Investigations: Giving
Upjohn
Warnings: When to Give an
Upjohn
Warning
).
Among other things, the warning also informs the employee that:
While the attorney-client privilege protects the communications between counsel and the employee, the privilege is controlled solely by the company.
The company may choose to waive the privilege and disclose what the employee told counsel to any third party, including the government.
(See
Practice Note, Internal Investigations: Giving
Upjohn
Warnings: Contents of an
Upjohn
Warning
.)
The term originated with
Upjohn Co. v. United States
(449 U.S. 383 (1981)
). In
Upjohn
, the US Supreme Court held that in certain instances the attorney-client privilege can protect communications between a company's counsel and the company's employees (see
Practice Notes, Internal Investigations: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Doctrine: Overview: Employees Within the Scope of the Organization's Privilege
and
Internal Investigations: Giving
Upjohn
Warnings: Employees
).
For an example warning with important explanations, see
Standard Document, Internal Investigations: Example of an
Upjohn
Warning
.
For information about:
How best to convey the warning, see
Practice Note, Internal Investigations: Giving
Upjohn
Warnings: Delivering the
Upjohn
Warning
.
Handling the common questions an employee asks after listening to the warning, see
Practice Note, Internal Investigations: Giving
Upjohn
Warnings: Interviewee Questions
.
For more resources about the warning, see
Conducting Internal Corporate Investigations Toolkit: Giving the
Upjohn
Warning
and
Video and audio, Internal Investigations: Upjohn Warning Roleplay, Tips, and Takeaways
.