From Arista Records LLC v. Lime Group LLC, 715 F.Supp.2d 481 (S.D.N.Y. 2010):

[T]here is no support for the contention that Dr. Waterman's study is flawed because of his collaboration with Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs assisted Dr. Waterman in a variety of ways, including obtaining the sample of files, categorizing the files in the sample, and implementing the statistical protocol that Dr. Waterman developed. Plaintiffs' assistance in developing and implementing the study was entirely appropriate. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B) advisory committee's note (1993) (stating that counsel may provide "assistance to experts in preparing [expert] reports, and indeed . . . this assistance may be needed"); Inline Connection Corp. v. AOL Time Warner Inc., 470 F. Supp. 2d 435, 442-43 (D. Del. 2007) (noting that experts may rely upon information provided by the client, other experts, or counsel). The Court finds that Dr. Waterman applied his expert knowledge to develop a reliable methodology. ***

Dr. Horowitz has not opined on the parties' state of mind, but rather has provided information on the design and functionality of the LimeWire program. See, e.g., Horowitz Report P 56 ("Although Lime Wire LLC professes to be agnostic about what files are transferred using LimeWire, LimeWire's feature set is optimized for downloading popular audio files."); id. P 57 (noting that the design of LW's "user interface" supports the download of music files); id. P 66 (opining that the use of a "Classic Rock" genre category has the effect of generating search results containing unauthorized works); id. P 70 (discussing that some of LimeWire's features are "potentially confusing" to users). Such expert opinion is proper and aids the finder-of-fact in understanding LimeWire's features. Dr. Horowitz does not make any impermissible legal conclusions, such as stating that LW actually intended to facilitate copyright infringement. He also does not cross the line into unreliable speculation about the intended purpose of various LimeWire design features. See Nimely v. City of New York, 414 F.3d at 396 n.11 (noting that an expert witness is permitted substantially more leeway than a lay witness in testifying as to opinions that go beyond on his or her immediate perception) (citing United States v. Garcia, 291 F.3d 127, 139 & n.8 (2d Cir. 2002)); In re Zyprexa Prods. Liab. Litig., 489 F. Supp. 2d at 283-84 (noting that an expert is "permitted wide latitude to offer opinions," so long as they rely upon expert knowledge and experience). ***

The New York Rules of Professional Conduct provide that a lawyer representing a client may not have ex parte communications with an opposing party who the lawyer knows is represented by counsel, unless the lawyer has the consent of that party's counsel. N.Y. Rules Prof. Conduct 4.2 (2009). The New York Court of Appeals has defined a "party" in this context to include "corporate employees whose acts or omissions in the matter under inquiry are binding on the corporation (in effect, the corporation's 'alter egos')." Niesig v. Team I, 76 N.Y.2d 363, 558 N.E.2d 1030, 1035, 559 N.Y.S.2d 493 (N.Y. 1990); Estes v. City of New York, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57765, 2006 WL 2299350, at *1 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 11, 2006). A lawyer may have ex parte contact with the opposing party's former employees. See Polycast Tech. Corp. v. Uniroyal, Inc., 129 F.R.D. 621, 628 (S.D.N.Y. 1990). If the former employee had access to privileged information while employed with the opposing party, however, a court may enter a protective order placing conditions on such contact, in order to prevent sharing of any privileged information. See Lyondell-Citgo Refining, LP v. Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., No. 02 Civ. 0795, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22805, 2003 WL 22990099, at *2-3 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 19, 2003).

The Court finds that evidence of Defendants pre-August 2003 conduct is relevant, probative, and admissible. Although Plaintiffs may not recover for conduct that occurred outside the limitations period, "evidence of such conduct may be admissible to shed light on the motives with which acts within the limitations period were performed." Cooper v. Parsky, 140 F.3d 433, 440-41 (2d Cir. 1998); see also Sir Speedy, Inc. v. L&P Graphics, Inc., 957 F.2d 1033, 1038 (2d Cir. 1992) (noting that the statute of limitations does not "operate to bar the use of a document that predates the commencement of the limitations period but that is relevant to events during the period"). The disputed evidence is relevant to the determination of Defendants' state of mind***

A statement is not hearsay if it is offered against a party and is the party's own statement, in either an individual capacity or a representative capacity. See Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(A). An admission made by a party's employee is admissible against the party if it was made during the course of the employee relationship and relates to a matter within the scope of the person's employment. See Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(D); United States v. Lauersen, 348 F.3d 329, 340 (2d Cir. 2003), vacated on other grounds, 543 U.S. 1097, 125 S. Ct. 1109, 160 L. Ed. 2d 988 (2005); Pappas v. Middle Earth Condo. Ass'n, 963 F.2d 534, 537 (2d Cir. 1992). Where a statement is deemed admissible as an admission by a party-opponent under Rule 801(d)(2), the surrounding statements providing essential context may also be considered. See United States v. Dupre, 462 F.3d 131, 136-137 (2d Cir. 2006) (email messages sent by third parties to defendants were admissible to provide context for email messages sent by defendants in response); see, e.g. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 454 F. Supp. 2d 966, 974 (C.D. Cal. 2006) ("Grokster Remand") (email chains and online exchanges deemed admissible as nonhearsay on the ground that the messages were offered to establish defendant's knowledge and state of mind as to the activities of its software users).