Declaration of Michael Dore  🔗 **Source:** [Declaration of Michael Dore](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.437474/gov.uscourts.cand.437474.287.1.pdf) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [wp-engine-automattic, discovery-dispute, privilege-log, protective-order, deposition-testimony, wordpress-governance, confidential-documents, gibson-dunn] > author: Michael Dore (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP) > source: CourtListener RECAP - N.D. Cal. 4:24-cv-06917-AMO > filing_type: declaration > docket: 287.1 > > # 🏷️ Gibson Dunn Declaration Introducing WP Engine's Privileged Internal Communications and Deposition Testimony > > # 🧭 Table of Contents > - [References](#-references) > - [Summary](#-summary) > - [Main Content](#-main-content) > - [Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) > - [Governance Digest](#-governance-digest) > - [Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) > - [Methodology](#-methodology) > - [Questions](#-questions) > - [Future Research](#-future-research) > - [Implications](#-implications) > - [Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) > - [Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) > - [DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) > - [Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) > - [DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) > - [Conclusion](#-conclusion) > - [Refactor Appendix](#-refactor-appendix) > > # 🔗 References > **Dockets:** 287.1 > **Rules:** Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (discovery procedures), Protective Order provisions > **Cases:** WPEngine, Inc. v. Automattic Inc., et al., N.D. Cal. No. 4:24-cv-06917-AMO > **Exhibits:** A (WPE00630098—WPE00630107), B (WPE00628097), C (Brunner/Yuan deposition excerpts) > > # 📝 Summary > Gibson Dunn partner Michael Dore authenticates three exhibits containing WP Engine's internal communications and executive deposition testimony, all designated as highly confidential. The filing reveals WP Engine's privilege assertions over documents involving Chad Costello and internal presentations shared via Google Drive in August 2024. This procedural filing exposes the contours of WP Engine's internal decision-making processes during the critical August 2024 period when the WordPress governance crisis escalated, while highlighting the company's efforts to shield strategic communications from public view through attorney-client privilege claims. > > **Key Stakeholders:** WP Engine executives (Heather Brunner, Victor Yuan), Chad Costello, Gibson Dunn counsel > **Risks/Tradeoffs:** Privilege assertions may protect legitimate attorney-client communications but could also shield governance-relevant strategic planning from scrutiny > **Bottom Line:** This authentication filing provides a procedural gateway to WP Engine's internal crisis response materials while demonstrating the company's aggressive confidentiality strategy. > > # 📖 Main Content > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## 🗒️ Notes ### Document Authentication Structure - **Exhibit A:** Privileged presentation (WPE00630098—WPE00630107) with redactions appearing across multiple related Bates ranges - **Exhibit B:** August 2, 2024 email (WPE00628097) transmitting Google Drive link to Exhibit A presentation - **Exhibit C:** Deposition excerpts from CEO Heather Brunner and executive Victor Yuan ### Privilege Log Patterns WP Engine's privilege assertions cover documents with Bates numbers WPE00615479, WPE00616276, WPE00615508, and WPE00615496, with Chad Costello notably absent as author/sender/recipient but receiving the presentation deck on August 9, 2024. ### Confidentiality Designations All exhibits carry "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" protection under the case's Protective Order, indicating WP Engine views these materials as competitively sensitive. ### Timeline Significance The August 2024 timeframe coincides with the escalation of Mullenweg's "nuclear war" campaign against WP Engine, making these internal communications potentially crucial to understanding WP Engine's governance strategy during the crisis. # 📚 References - Docket 287.1 - Declaration of Michael Dore - WP Engine Bates productions WPE00630098—WPE00630107, WPE00628097 - WP Engine privilege log entries for multiple document ranges - Depositions of Heather Brunner and Victor Yuan - Case Protective Order governing confidentiality designations # 🗣️ Paraphrase Gibson Dunn's Michael Dore submits a straightforward authentication declaration for three categories of evidence. First, he introduces a privileged internal presentation that WP Engine has redacted across multiple document productions. Second, he authenticates an August 2024 email that transmitted this presentation via Google Drive. Third, he presents excerpted testimony from depositions of WP Engine's top executives. Dore notes that WP Engine has designated all materials as highly confidential, and he highlights irregularities in WP Engine's privilege log regarding Chad Costello's relationship to the privileged documents. The declaration establishes these materials' authenticity for use in whatever motion or brief accompanies this exhibit. # 📰 Governance Digest **The Paper Trail Emerges:** As discovery winds down, we're getting our first glimpse of what WP Engine's executives were saying to each other during the August 2024 meltdown. Gibson Dunn has authenticated a privileged presentation that was ping-ponging around WP Engine's leadership via Google Drive, plus testimony from CEO Heather Brunner and executive Victor Yuan. WP Engine is fighting hard to keep the contents under wraps with "attorneys' eyes only" protections, but the very existence of these materials suggests the company was developing sophisticated response strategies during Mullenweg's "brick by brick" campaign. The privilege log mysteries around Chad Costello's involvement add another layer of intrigue to WP Engine's internal governance during the crisis. # 🧪 Hypotheses 1. **Strategic Response Documentation:** The privileged August 2024 presentation contains WP Engine's strategic analysis and response plan to Automattic's governance challenges 2. **Executive Coordination Evidence:** The Google Drive distribution pattern reveals WP Engine's crisis management hierarchy and decision-making processes 3. **Privilege Shield Strategy:** WP Engine's broad confidentiality assertions aim to protect competitive intelligence rather than legitimate attorney-client communications 4. **Costello Connection:** Chad Costello's receipt of privileged materials despite not being listed as author/recipient suggests informal advisory relationships within WP Engine's governance structure 5. **Deposition Contradictions:** The Brunner/Yuan testimony excerpts likely contain admissions or statements inconsistent with WP Engine's public positions on WordPress governance # 📊 Methodology **Evidentiary Basis:** Michael Dore's personal knowledge as counsel, document authentication procedures, and privilege log review. **Declaration Foundation:** Dore certifies personal knowledge of exhibit authenticity and privilege designations, with specific factual assertions about production dates, Bates numbering, and confidentiality classifications. The methodology follows standard discovery authentication procedures with detailed Bates number references and protective order compliance. # ❓ Questions 1. What governance strategies or admissions does the privileged August 2024 presentation contain that WP Engine considers so sensitive? 2. Why was Chad Costello receiving privileged materials despite not being formally identified in the privilege log chain? 3. What contradictions between the Brunner/Yuan deposition testimony and WP Engine's public governance positions prompted Automattic to highlight these excerpts? 4. How does the Google Drive distribution method for privileged materials affect WP Engine's attorney-client privilege claims? 5. What other August 2024 internal communications remain under privilege protection, and what governance decisions do they document? # 🔮 Future Research **Litigation Threads:** Privilege challenges to WP Engine's confidentiality assertions; motion practice utilizing these authenticated exhibits; potential sanctions issues if privilege claims prove overbroad **WordPress Governance:** Investigation of WP Engine's crisis management protocols; analysis of hosting provider responses to wordpress.org policy changes; examination of Silver Lake's role in WP Engine's governance strategy during the August 2024 escalation # 💡 Implications **Practice:** Hosting providers may need formal protocols for responding to WordPress Foundation governance changes **Policy:** WordPress.org's plugin directory governance requires clearer due process protections against arbitrary changes **Security:** Privileged strategy documents highlight the intersection of legal and technical governance in open-source ecosystems **Education:** WordPress community needs better understanding of how corporate interests navigate open-source governance crises **Funding:** Investment entities like Silver Lake require governance risk assessment frameworks for open-source dependencies # 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment **Visual:** Document structure and Bates numbering systems; **Aural:** Deposition testimony excerpts; **Verbal:** Legal terminology and privilege concepts; **Kinesthetic:** Document production and authentication processes; **Logical:** Privilege log analysis and timeline correlation; **Social:** Executive coordination and communication patterns; **Solitary:** Individual privilege log review and legal research; **Naturalistic:** Pattern recognition in document production sequences. **Reading Level:** Legal professional (graduate-level complexity with specialized terminology). # 📊 Accessibility Assessment **Structure:** Well-formatted legal document with clear numbering and exhibit organization. **Text Quality:** Fully text-extractable PDF with standard court formatting. **Navigation:** Sequential paragraph numbering enables easy reference. **WCAG 2.2 AA:** Meets accessibility standards for legal document format with clear headings and logical structure. **Barriers:** Legal terminology may require specialized knowledge for full comprehension. # 🌍 DEIB Assessment **Cultural Breadth:** Standard legal formatting without cultural barriers. **Inclusive Language:** Professional legal terminology without exclusionary elements. **Neurodiversity Support:** Clear structure and explicit numbering aid comprehension for diverse cognitive styles. **Representation:** Legal proceeding involves diverse corporate and individual stakeholders. **Psychological Safety:** Formal legal context maintains professional neutrality without intimidating elements. # ✅ Logical Validity **Strong Reasoning:** Methodical authentication of exhibits with specific factual foundations and proper legal procedure compliance. **Fallacies:** None detected - straightforward evidentiary authentication. **Tone:** Professional, factual, and appropriately formal for court filing without argumentative elements. # 🛡️ DARVO Analysis Not applicable to this source - this is a neutral authentication declaration without defensive rhetoric or victim-offender dynamics. # 🎯 Conclusion This authentication filing provides the procedural foundation for introducing WP Engine's internal crisis communications and executive testimony into the litigation record. The August 2024 timeframe and confidentiality assertions suggest these materials contain significant governance strategy content that both sides consider crucial to their cases. **Watch Next:** The motion or brief that utilizes these authenticated exhibits, and any privilege challenges to WP Engine's confidentiality claims. # 🧱 Refactor Appendix ## 📚 Literature Atoms > [!quote] "WPE designated Exhibits A and B and testimony included in Exhibit C as 'HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY' under the Protective Order." This demonstrates WP Engine's strategic use of confidentiality protections to shield internal governance communications. > [!quote] "WPE's counsel informed us on May 6, 2026 that the August 2, 2024 email transmitted a Google Drive hyperlink to the presentation attached as Exhibit A." The Google Drive distribution method reveals how WP Engine circulated sensitive governance strategy materials during the crisis. > [!quote] "Chad Costello is not identified as author, sender, recipient, or custodian. Separate entries indicate Costello was sent the deck on August 9, 2024." This privilege log discrepancy suggests informal advisory relationships within WP Engine's governance structure. ## 📚 Permanent Candidates - Authentication procedures for privileged discovery materials - Protective order designations in open-source governance disputes - Executive deposition testimony in corporate governance crises - Privilege log irregularities and their evidentiary implications ## ✏️ Fleeting Queue - Connection between Google Drive distribution and privilege waiver arguments - Role of Chad Costello in WP Engine's governance strategy - Timing correlation between privileged presentations and public governance positions - Strategic implications of "attorneys' eyes only" designations in competitive disputes <!-- deep-read:sections end --> 📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/Declaration of Michael Dore-2.md|Declaration of Michael Dore by Hon. Araceli Martínez-Olguín]] ## Highlights - 1. I am an attorney admitted to practice before this Court, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and counsel for Defendants in the above-captioned action. I have personal knowledge of the matters set forth herein, except as to those matters stated on information and belief, which I believe to be true. If called as a witness, I could and would testify competently to the matters herein. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01ksfvgsj0yn30t2h3d4jk8qkx)) - Note: Docket 287.1: Defendants' attorney declaration (privilege dispute). - Tags: wp-engine-automattic, legal