Government Accountability & Oversight, P.C. v. Frosh

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to compel disclosure under the Maryland Public Information Act of the entirety of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG’s) application to participate in a program of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at New York University (NYU) Law School. If selected for the program, the Impact Center hired an NYU Fellow to serve as special assistant attorney general to work in the attorney general’s (AG’s) office on matters related to the “advancement and defense of progressive clean energy, climate change, and environmental matters.” The appellate court agreed with the OAG that redacted portions of the application were privileged as “preliminary communications made between a client and its prospective counsel while seeking legal assistance.” The redacted sections were therefore exempt from disclosure due to attorney-client privilege.