In re National Mortgage Equity Corp. Mortgage Pool Certificates Securities Litigation

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

These consolidated actions involve, inter alia, charges of fraud on a massive scale against National Mortgage Equity Corporation, its president David A. Feldman (collectively “NMEC”), Lord, Bissell & Brook and Leslie A. Michael (collectively “LBB”). NMEC was the originator, assembler, marketer and. (at times) servicer of a program to sell mortgage-backed certificates. See National Mortgage Equity Corp. Mortgage Pool Certificates Sec. Litig., 636 F.Supp. 1138 (C.D.Cal.1986) (“NMEC I”), and NMEC II, 682 F.Supp. 1073 (C.D.Cal. 1987). During the period relevant to these actions, LBB was NMEC’s attorneys, including at least during a portion of the period its attorneys on securities and securities offerings matters. Both client and attorney have been charged by numerous third-parties in these consolidated actions *690 with securities fraud and other wrongdoing.

LBB has long made known its belief that it has a right to disclose otherwise confidential attorney-client communications over the client’s (NMEC’s) objection to the extent necessary to LBB’s self defense in these actions. 1 After the resolution of a number of other discovery disputes over an…