Attorneys – Work product – Corporate counsel – Outside tax accountants

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Where the Commissioner of Revenue requested production of communications between an in-house corporate counsel and outside tax accountants consulted by him regarding the structuring of a sale of stock mandated by an antitrust consent judgment, an order denying the Commissioner's request should be affirmed on the ground that the documents are protected from disclosure by the work-product doctrine.

Commissioner of Revenue v. Comcast Corp., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-033-09) (37 pages) (Marshall, C.J.) (SJC) Motions to compel production of certain withheld documents and for reconsideration heard by Gaziano, J., and entry of final judgment ordered by Connolly, J., in Superior Court. William W. Porter for the plaintiff; David J. Nagle, of Sullivan & Worcester, for the defendants; John S. Brown, George P. Mair, Donald-Bruce Abrams and Matthew D. Schnall, all of Bingham McCutchen, submitted a brief for The New England Cable & Telecommunications Association, Inc., amicus curiae; Shirley K. Sicilian and Sheldon H. Laskin, for Multistate Tax Commission, amicus curiae, submitted a brief (Docket No. SJC-10209) (March 3, 2009).