Opinion work product includes an attorney's mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, and legal theories concerning the litigation. Courts must protect against its disclosure even when ordering production of fact work product.
The protection approaches but may not be absolute.
Alternative Names:
Core Work Product, Mental Impressions
Why it Matters?
The heightened protection makes documents recording counsel's analysis substantially safer than those recording facts, which affects how investigation materials should be structured. A witness interview memorandum recording only what the witness said is fact work product subject to a substantial need exception, while the same memorandum incorporating counsel's assessment of credibility and significance receives opinion protection. That distinction is worth building into practice.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is opinion work product absolutely protected?
How does this affect interview memoranda?
