The English Court of Appeal's much - anticipated decision on legal professional privilege in Director of the Serious Fraud Office v. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd. contains mixed news for companies conducting internal investigations. While the decision provides some clarity regarding the availability of litigation privilege in the context of criminal investigations, the court held that it was unable to depart from the controversial decision in Three Rivers (No. 5), which defined the "client" narrowly for the purposes of legal advice privilege. This means that companies, especially large corporations and multinational corporate groups, will continue to face difficulties in obtaining the information they need to investigate suspected wrongdoing, without losing the benefit of legal advice privilege under English law.

Originally published in Law360 - September 2018.