J&J’s Talc Litigation Saga Gets Attorney-Client Privilege Twist

Lawyers in the multibillion-dollar battle over Johnson & Johnson‘s allegedly cancer-causing baby powders are now fighting on a new front, seeking to reveal the strategies behind each side.

Some key plaintiffs’ lawyers argue that J&J illicitly transferred assets and abused the bankruptcy process in response to the massive talc litigation. They want a court to invoke the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege and force J&J to turn over emails and other communications among some of its top in-house attorneys. That could allow a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the strategies that J&J has used to try to limit liability and resolve ...