By Donna Fisher, Samuel Abate, Jr. and Christopher De Bono, Pepper Hamilton LLP ( April 24, 2017, 6:30 PM EDT) -- Two recent cases in state appellate court show the risks of sharing privileged communications with public relations consultants. But they also provide practical guidance on how to protect the confidentiality of attorney-client communications and attorney work product when dealing with media and public relations firms. While the opinions in Pennsylvania and California might reflect the cases' individual facts, they offer important lessons for avoiding claims of privilege waiver when using PR consultants during litigation. Most notably, they remind companies to make sure the information shared relates to a necessary role in the litigation. This can be demonstrated by using outside counsel in the PR firm hiring process....