ANALYSIS: Before Chasing ‘Perry Mason Moments,’ Think of Ronaldo

Last week’s remarkable development in the Alex Jones defamation trial raised some compelling lessons for litigators coming into possession of sensitive electronically stored information. While the plaintiff’s counsel appears to have avoided negative consequences from their use of Jones’s accidentally disclosed data, this is often not the result in these types of situations. As demonstrated in another case this summer involving a celebrity defendant, Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, lawyers should steer clear of pursuing their own “Perry Mason moment” with leaked data that may be privileged.

For the unaware: It was revealed in court last week that Jones’s legal ...