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22 November 2013
Issue: 7585 / Categories: Case law , Law digest , In Court
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Legal professional privilege

Behague v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2013] UKFTT 596 (TC), [2013] All ER (D) 120 (Nov)

A client engagement letter was a contract between the client and solicitor. The solicitor could not (and did not) give legal advice about the contract between himself and his client. In so far as the client engagement letter, therefore, set out the terms of the contract, it could not attract legal professional privilege (LPP) as the lawyer was not giving advice qua lawyer. However, all that depended on what the actual engagement letter said. If it went beyond setting out the terms on which the solicitor would act it might attract LPP at least in part. In particular, it was likely that an engagement letter would specify the particular matter or matters on which the solicitor was contracted to provide legal advice. LPP had to extend not only to the content of the legal advice but the fact that a person sought legal advice on any particular matter. Accordingly, to the extent that an engagement letter set out what the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft—Clare Dewar

DAC Beachcroft strengthens Scottish real estate capabilitywith partner appointment

Womble Bond Dickinson—Brendan Ryan

Womble Bond Dickinson—Brendan Ryan

Womble Bond Dickinson appoints Brendan Ryan as partner in Public Law Projects team

Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

Parklane Plowden Chambers—five appointments

Parklane Plowden Chambers welcomes five new barristers

NEWS
A time-restricted bank tax, a ‘roadmap to fiscal devolution’, extension to parental leave, entrepreneur’s relief and a giveaway on energy bills for households are the headlines in Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey’s 2026 Autumn Budget
A Court of Appeal judge has lamented the ‘very concerning’ state of the law on employee inventor compensation after a chemist’s case took five-and-a-half years to reach court, eventually being listed for a 37-day trial next year
The Law Society has emphasised that responsibility remains human, in a practice note on artificial intelligence (AI)
Respect orders, which enable police, councils, housing associations, transport networks and other authorities to take enforcement action against anti-social behaviour, have come into force across England and Wales
The Land Registry has launched two consultations aimed at making its information more publicly accessible, ‘Restructuring HM Land Registry fees’, and ‘Future of access to HM Land Registry information’
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