( January 22, 2026, 1:07 PM EST) -- ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 21 affirmed a lower court’s denial of a motion for a protective order sought by a law firm in a complex discovery dispute over allegations of fraud in an underlying case involving claims brought by Peruvian citizens who say there were injured by exposure to lead from a smelting operation. The panel held that the law firm was not entitled to attorney-client privilege or work product protection for documents related to the firm’s efforts to recruit plaintiffs for the case against the smelter....