Category Archives: Privilege
New “Handy client guide to privilege” published
We have published a new client guide to legal professional privilege under English law, comprising: A decision tree: intended as a quick reference to help determine which documents can legitimately be withheld on grounds of privilege; and Practical tips for maintaining … Continue reading
Filed under Announcements, Privilege
No legal advice privilege for claims consultants
The High Court has confirmed that communications between a party and his construction claims consultants (in relation to a claim for extensions of time) were not subject to legal advice privilege: Walter Lilly and Company Limited v. Mackay and DMW [2012] … Continue reading
Filed under Privilege
Application of litigation privilege to competition investigations
In a ruling last Tuesday, 20 March, the Competition Appeal Tribunal has held that notes of third party witness interviews conducted by a party’s lawyers during an OFT investigation under the Competition Act 1998 were subject to litigation privilege under English law, as by … Continue reading
Filed under Privilege
Litigation from a client’s perspective: top tips from the advocacy unit
On 21 March Murray Rosen QC, head of Herbert Smith’s Advocacy Unit, together with support lawyers Pamela Kiesselbach and David Phillips, presented a webinar entitled ‘Litigation from a client’s perspective: top tips from the advocacy unit’. Murray, Pamela and David … Continue reading
Filed under Disclosure, Evidence, Experts, Privilege, Settlement
Hong Kong court applies narrow view of “client” for privilege purposes
The much discussed decision of the English Court of Appeal in Three Rivers District Council v Bank of England [2003] EWCA Civ 474 led to a risk that not all employees of a company or organisation will be considered part of … Continue reading
Filed under Privilege
Waiver of privilege in draft expert report
The High Court has held that a defendant waived privilege in its draft expert report, since it had deployed significant parts of the report in a witness statement served in defence of an application to strike out its counterclaim: ACD … Continue reading
No injunction against expert who received party’s privileged information
A recent High Court decision has re-emphasised the difficulty of challenging an opponent’s expert on grounds of the expert’s previous receipt of the applicant’s privileged and confidential information: A Lloyd’s Syndicate v X [2011] EWHC 2487 (Comm). The cases show that mere receipt … Continue reading
Prudential appeal to be heard in November 2012
In April this year, Prudential was granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal’s decision confirming that legal professional privilege is restricted, at common law, to members of the legal professions: R (on the application … Continue reading
Filed under Privilege
Webinar alert – Privilege update: practical issues arising from recent cases
On Wednesday 30 November (12:45 to 1:45 UK time) Julian Copeman, Anna Pertoldi and James Norris-Jones will present a live audio webinar exploring practical issues that arise from judgments over the past year, including: when a company director is entitled to assert privilege in … Continue reading
Filed under Announcements, Privilege
High Court restrained use of privileged documents disclosed inadvertently
The recent High Court decision in London Borough of Redbridge and another v Johnson [2011] EWHC 2861 (QB) is a reminder that where privileged documents are disclosed inadvertently (here pursuant to a subject access request under section 7 of the Data … Continue reading
Filed under Confidentiality, Privilege
