On August 7, 2025, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Panel overturned a district court's ruling ordering FirstEnergy Corporation (FirstEnergy) to produce internal investigation documents relating to FirstEnergy's internal investigations following a former politician's indictment. This is an important win for companies that engage outside counsel to conduct internal investigations, as it protects both attorney-client communications and attorney work-product in the internal investigations sphere.
After the former politician's arrest, the Justice Department began criminal and civil investigations of FirstEnergy. Several lawsuits and state and federal regulatory actions against the company followed. FirstEnergy and its Board of Directors each retained outside counsel to investigate. That work resulted in privileged communications under both the attorney-client and work-product privilege, according to the Panel.
The district court ordered FirstEnergy to produce the fruits of its investigation during discovery. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit found the district court had incorrectly applied the work-product doctrine and the attorney-client privilege and further found that FirstEnergy would face irreparable harm absent a stay. 39 law firms filed an amicus brief in support of FirstEnergy, arguing the district court's order contained legal principles that, if adopted, "would threaten the success of countless internal investigations necessary to the good governance of companies in the United States."
This ruling protects white-collar investigation practices. The benefits of attorney-client and work-product privilege protections help attorneys conducting investigations become trusted advisors to their clients, as noted by the amicus brief. These privileges are important to completing internal corporate investigations. In the absence of these privileges, law firms would experience a lower volume of white-collar investigations. This ruling also incentivizes companies and people to retain attorneys to conduct these investigations without fear of improper disclosures.
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