The question of attorney-client privilege (herein “the privilege”) for in-house counsel can be a vexing one, yet one that has significant implications for investigations and enforcement actions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or other anti-corruption legislation. There is a split decision between the US and countries in the European Union (EU) on whether in-house counsel may engage in privileged communications with corporate employers. In a recent article, entitled “In-House Counsel and Corporate Client Communications: Can EU Law after Akzo Noble and U.S. Law after Gucci be Harmonized? Critiques and a Proposal”; published in Volume 45, Number 3 of the International Lawyer, author John Gergacz explored this dichotomy and proposed a simple, yet clear rule to put in place to foster ease of determination of the privilege and promote the goals behind the existence of the privilege.

This question of whether the privilege exists for communications will certainly increase due to the increase in international enforcement actions in the area of anti-corruption and anti-bribery under laws such as the FCPA and UK Bribery Act. It will also arise in investigations involving any other activities which might be subject to both EU and US laws, such as EU competition law and US anti-trust law.