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Joint Defense Agreement (JDA)
Practical Law Glossary Item 3-501-9762 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Joint Defense Agreement (JDA)
An agreement between separately represented parties with common legal interests (generally relating to pending or anticipated litigation) that allows the parties to share confidential information with each other without waiving the attorney-client privilege, work product protection, or other applicable privilege or protection. Among other things, a JDA may also:
- Restrict the parties' use of information shared under the JDA.
- Set out conditions and procedures under which shared information must be returned to the originating party.
- Require the parties to disclaim any attorney-client relationship with counsel for another party to the JDA, which arises as a result of the sharing of privileged information.
For more information on joint defense agreements, see Standard Document, Joint Defense and Confidentiality Agreement (Federal) and Standard Document, Investigations: Joint Defense and Confidentiality Agreement.