Legal professional privilege is a key issue in any litigation or investigation and each year the courts determine many disputes over its application. It can become less straightforward to manage and protect in multi-party or...more
In this month's instalment, our team highlights the recent ACAS guidance on whistleblowing and employee absences, potential issues with legal advice privilege, workers’ rights in respect of holiday pay on termination and the...more
In December 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) made a preliminary ruling which will herald a significant, and welcome, impact on the treatment of lawyer-client communications by the EU courts. The...more
Privilege is a legal concept that can have a significant impact on internal investigations. It refers to certain types of communications or documents that are protected from disclosure because they are considered confidential...more
During a turbulent month of mini-budgets and U-turns, there were also a number of important decisions handed down by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (the “EAT”). In our October update, we outline the EAT’s determination of...more
Legal professional privilege, litigation advice privilege, iniquitous principle, unfair dismissal, right to appeal, unlawful protection from wages claim, income protection payments - EAT concludes that an email sent prior...more
A recent English judgment discussed whether communications with an in-house counsel or with external foreign lawyers are protected by legal advice privilege, including whether the type and seniority of qualification of the...more
High Court holds that English law legal advice privilege can extend to such communications regardless of whether or not the lawyers are in-house practitioners. In PJSC Tatneft v Gennady Bogolyubov & Ors.,[i] the English...more
On 1 June 2020, the High Court found that, by using references to their lawyers’ legal advice in support of its case that the transactions that formed the subject matter of the application were lawful, a bank had waived...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
The Court of Appeal has recently handed down a number of important judgments addressing the scope of Legal Professional Privilege (LPP). In Sports Direct International plc v Financial Reporting Council, a unanimous Court of...more
The Court ruled on the “dominant purpose” test and offered guidance on the status of multiparty emails, and attachments. Two recent Court of Appeal judgments have sought to clarify, and offer practical guidance relating...more
In The Civil Aviation Authority v R (on the application of Jet2.com Limited), the Court of Appeal, upholding the High Court decision, has affirmed that legal advice privilege (LAP) is subject to a dominant purpose test. This...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
The dominant purpose of a communication must be to obtain, or give, legal advice for legal advice privilege to apply. The Court of Appeal considers how, in the light of this, to analyse privilege and internal multi-party...more
In perhaps the clearest statement on this issue to date, the Court of Appeal in The Civil Aviation Authority v R (on the application of Jet2.com Limited), has confirmed the "dominant purpose" test for legal advice privilege....more
In Civil Aviation Authority v R (on the application of Jet2 Ltd) 2020 EWCA Civ 35, the English Court of Appeal provided clear guidance on the position of Legal Advice Privilege and multiparty emails. Further, it confirmed...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
Existing Test - Legal Advice Privilege (“LAP”) allows a party to withhold from disclosure communications between a lawyer and client, which are confidential and for the dominant purposes of obtaining legal advice. This...more
Leaked Legal Advice Protected Under Privilege, Court of Appeal Holds - Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency - On October 22, 2019, the UK Court of Appeal held that a leaked email, in which in-house...more
The CAT’s Royal Mail v. Ofcom judgment considers what constitutes abusive conduct, the “as-efficient competitor” test, and the use of expert economic advice. On 12 November 2019, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (the...more
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that documents protected by legal advice privilege remain so protected even upon the dissolution of the company to whom the privilege belongs. Once attached, legal advice privilege exists...more
The much heralded Corporate Co-operation Guidance published by the Serious Fraud Office recently offers little comfort to corporates struggling with the dilemma of whether to self-report wrongdoing. Instead it offers a...more
The decision clarifies how lawyer-client privilege applies in the context of transactions. The recent English High Court decision Raiffeisen Bank International AG v Asia Coal Energy Ventures Limited and Ashurst provides...more