The last two Privilege Points have addressed the implied waiver implications of litigants (defendant in the Crypto King’s trial and plaintiff in the case described last week) relying on legal advice to defend against or...more
The US concepts of the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine are rooted in England’s and Wales’s legal advice and litigation privileges. The primary purpose of the attorney-client privilege and the legal...more
The Supreme Court was seemingly set to decide whether and when a party can assert attorney-client privilege protection over communications containing both legal and non-legal advice, but SCOTUS recently decided to bypass the...more
The “attorney-client privilege” may be the most well-known and misunderstood legal principles. Both attorneys and clients often make broad assumptions about its scope and application. When these assumptions turn out to be...more
On October 3, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review in a federal grand jury proceeding that may result in the Court expanding the scope of the attorney-client privilege for dual-purpose business communications....more
When are communications with counsel that are for both legal advice and business purposes protected by the attorney-client privilege? From least to most stringent, courts have required that a communication be “because of”...more
Businesses' ability to adapt to the "new normal" of remote working in the UK has been astonishing and commendable. However, the official communication lines that protect legal privilege (amongst other things) may be eroded if...more
Any recorded communication (for example: emails, recorded phone conversations (including voicemails), letters, memoranda, computer records etc) may have to be produced to the other party in litigation or other adversarial...more
In Civil Aviation Authority v. R (on the Application of Jet2.com Ltd.), the English Court of Appeal clarified the test for legal advice privilege, confirming the need to show that the dominant purpose of the relevant...more
Following closely behind the Jet2 decision (see our note, Court of Appeal Gives Important New Guidance on Legal Advice Privilege), the Court of Appeal has again turned its attention to privilege, this time in relation to the...more
In Raffeisen Bank International AG v Asia Coal Energy Ventures Ltd & Ashurst LLP, the Court of Appeal distinguished the case of Conlon v Conlons Ltd, and provided a helpful analysis of the circumstances in which instructions...more
In a judgment handed down this week, The Civil Aviation Authority v Jet2.Com Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 35, the Court of Appeal has given important new guidance on a number of issues that arise as to the scope of Legal Advice...more
Understanding the boundaries of legal privilege in corporate internal investigations is critical. When counsel, either internal or external, misunderstands these boundaries, the result can be disastrous....more
Solicitor-client privilege applies broadly to the continuum of communications concerning matters within the solicitor-client relationship, the BC Court of Appeal recently held in British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Lee,...more
Our first article this month addresses the treatment of the attorney-client privilege in employee benefits matters. Pursuant to the so-called "fiduciary exception," communications between an attorney and a plan fiduciary are...more