Attorney-Client Privilege for Financial Institutions in Internal Investigations, Audits, and Bank Regulatory Exams
Confidential Information and Work Product; Bank Examination Privilege; Section 1828 Selective Waiver
About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will examine attorney-client privilege for banks and financial institutions. The faculty will provide actionable guidance on safeguarding the attorney-client privilege, responding to document requests that seek privileged information, and addressing regulatory requests for privileged information, including the potential consequences of sharing privileged information with regulators.
Description
Protecting the attorney-client privilege is vital for banks and financial institutions, and mistakes can cause tremendous economic and reputational injury.
First, sharing privileged materials with regulators is an area fraught with peril. Banks and financial institutions enjoy a unique privilege concerning confidential information shared with bank regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for supervisory or regulatory purposes. A federal statute allows financial institutions to provide privileged materials demanded by regulators without waiving the privilege in subsequent litigation. Counsel should understand this law and the strategic considerations relevant to providing regulators with privileged documents.
Second, in banking, parallel private or civil litigation often occurs alongside regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. So, counsel must understand how to address discovery demands for privileged materials and minimize the risk of unintended waiver. Third, conducting internal investigations poses unique risks. Counsel should understand how to cloak investigations with privilege and avoid pitfalls that may result in an unwanted loss of confidentiality.
Listen as our authoritative panel of financial institution regulatory attorneys explains vital aspects of the attorney-client privilege as it applies during bank examinations and audits. The panel will discuss the scope of the privilege, who may invoke the privilege, responding to government requests for privileged information, how to respond to discovery requests, and communications between a financial institution and its counsel.
Presented By
Ms. Flinn is a partner in the White Collar Defense and Investigations group. She focuses her practice on government investigations and enforcement actions, internal investigations, and complex regulatory and private litigation matters at the trial and appellate level. Ms. Flinn represents individuals, investment advisers, broker-dealers, public companies, banks, and other financial institutions before various state and federal regulators and enforcement authorities. These include the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and state banking and securities regulators. Ms. Flinn has extensive experience defending and counseling clients at each juncture of a government investigation, including with respect to subpoena responses, investigative testimony, and Wells submissions. She also represents clients in connection with government enforcement proceedings and litigation, investor lawsuits and class actions, and arbitrations with a concentration on the securities and financial services industries.
Mr. Lakatos advises clients on complex litigation, particularly in matters arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and in other matters on behalf of leading financial institutions. He focuses on complex class and derivative actions under ERISA, including fiduciary and other benefits actions. Mr. Lakatos represents benefit plans, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers against claims relating to defined contribution (401(k) and 403(b)) plans, as well as in ERISA class actions alleging excessive fees, imprudent investments, and other claims relating to the administration of plan assets and fiduciary responsibilities.
Ms. Lambrakopoulos concentrates her practice in securities enforcement matters, securities and financial services litigation, internal investigations, and broker-dealer regulation. As a partner in the firm's White Collar Defense and Investigations practice group, she represents corporate and individual clients in enforcement proceedings before the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, FINRA, and state securities regulators. Ms. Lambrakopoulos also represents financial institutions, corporations, and their officers in complex financial services and securities class actions and individual litigation before federal and state courts at the trial and appellate level. She has first-chaired jury and bench trials in federal and state courts and defends FINRA securities arbitrations. Ms. Lambrakopoulos's clients include banks and other financial institutions, broker-dealers, investment advisers, hedge funds, trust companies, colleges and universities, and their directors, officers, and employees.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. Bank regulatory agencies and the bank examination privilege
A. Regulator requests to compel disclosure of privileged information; policy positions of OCC, FRB, FDIC, CFPB, and state agencies
B. Evaluating whether to waive attorney-client privilege in response to a regulatory demand
C. Selective waiver and Section 1828
D. Regulators' selective disclosure of confidential material to other agencies
E. Steps institutions can take to strengthen the protection of confidentiality of shared privileged information
II. Waiver
A. The scope of waiver (including Rule 502)
B. Types of waiver
C. Disclosure of investigative report
III. Who has the privilege in internal investigations/audits?
A. Privilege considerations when interviewing employees
B. Privilege within the corporation during the investigation
C. Protecting communication among management
D. Privilege and former employees
E. Audit committees and reporting to the board
F. Third parties in investigations
G. The Garner doctrine—access to investigatory materials by shareholders and other beneficiaries of fiduciary relationships
The panel will review these and other notable issues:
- How and when should banks and financial institutions share privileged materials with their regulators?
- What can banks and financial institutions do to strengthen the protection of confidentiality of shared privileged information with banking regulators?
- How should banks respond to civil discovery demands for privileged materials?
- How do companies lose privilege in internal investigations, and how can it be avoided?
- What is the applicability and scope of the bank examination privilege for confidential information disclosed to banking regulatory agencies?
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Attorney-Client Privilege for Financial Institutions in Internal Investigations, Audits, and Bank Regulatory Exams
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
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