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18 September 2019 / Georgina Squire
Issue: 7856 / Categories: Opinion , Procedure & practice , Legal services
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Is client confidentiality at risk again?

Lawyers will be keenly watching the latest development in an important dispute over legal professional privilege, says Georgina Squire

Legal professional privilege (LPP) is a key component of the ability of lawyers to advise their clients. It is a fundamental right that enables clients to give full and frank disclosure of confidential information to their lawyers, so that they can receive legal advice secure in the knowledge it will not become disclosable and therefore open to scrutiny at the hands of third parties.

SFO v ENRC

LPP is a principle that, although entrenched in our legal system, has long been a topic of considerable debate. The most important decision on the principle of LPP in recent times came from the Court of Appeal last September, in Director of the Serious Fraud Office v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd (Law Society Intervening) [2018] EWCA Civ 2006, [2018] All ER (D) 05 (Sep). This landmark appeal was a defining moment in our understanding of the scope of the LPP principle

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NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Should a conviction stand when a later ruling reveals that the law underpinning it was wrong? The answer exposes a clash between finality and justice
The Environment Agency can prosecute offences beyond environmental legislation where proceedings support its statutory functions, the Divisional Court has confirmed
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