"Prosecutors Are Not above the Law or the Constitution," Proclaims the Association of Corporate Counsel as House Passes Attorney-Client Privilege Bill by Voice Vote without Objection.

WASHINGTON -- By voice vote under suspension of the rules, today the House overwhelmingly approved H.R. 3013, the "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007," which will allow prosecutors to pursue information they believe is not confidential but would recognize and protect valid claims of attorney-client privilege. The Association of Corporate Counsel ("ACC or "the Association") has been very involved in the passage of this bill and strongly "praises the House for righting this wrong and recognizing the need for limits on the DOJ. Prosecutors are not above the law or the Constitution."

Susan Hackett, ACC Senior Vice President and General Counsel has been incredibly vocal about this issue and has said, "This is an issue of correcting errant prosecutorial behavior. There are lots of laws on the books to outlaw corporate crime and the government has the power to enforce them; this bill is needed to forbid abusive government practices that strip those targeted by a government investigation of their rights to confidential counsel. It further provides them with the power to make the government abide by long-established and respected rules and rights afforded to all by the justice system."

Hackett goes on to say, "There is nothing in this bill that prevents the DOJ from prosecuting whomever it wants and using all the tools in its arsenal to conduct an investigation, get to the truth and prosecute the guilty. Instead, this bill demands that the DOJ play fair in doing so. As a court-protected doctrine, the attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the evidentiary privileges and is a cornerstone of our justice system. The rules they must follow -- and for which this bill supports -- are undisputed and well-established in over 500 years of common law and the U.S. Constitution."

The final version of H.R. 3013 that the House approved today is closely aligned with the previous version approved on August 1, 2007, by the House Judiciary Committee, with the inclusion of a manager's amendment requested by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The bill now moves to the Senate, where a similar bill introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), S. 186, is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), the in-house bar association(SM), serves the professional needs of attorneys who practice in the legal departments of corporations and other private sector organizations worldwide. Celebrating its 25(th) Anniversary in 2007, ACC is committed to promoting the common interests of its members and contributes to their continuing education, while seeking to improve understanding of the role of in-house attorneys, and encourages advancements in standards of corporate legal practice. Since its founding, the association has grown to over 23,000 members in 75 countries who represent over 9,500 organizations. ACC has 48 chapters and 14 committees serving the membership, representing all of the Fortune 100 companies. Internationally, its members represent 42 of the Global 50 and 74 of the Global 100 companies. Visit ACC online at www.acc.com for more information.