Legal Professional Privilege: Who, not What
Legal Professional Privilege prevents any third party(including a Court) from demanding access to legal advice given bya lawyer to his client.
In the case of R (on the application of Prudential Plc &Another v Special Commissioner of Income Tax & Another (2010),the Court of Appeal unanimously confirmed that Legal ProfessionalPrivilege only applies to advice given by lawyers and not to legaladvice given by other professionals. The only exceptions to thisare advice given by Intellectual Property agents and LicensedConveyancers.
The Court noted that Parliament has deliberately chosen notto extend Legal Professional Privilege. As such, Legal ProfessionalPrivilege remains limited to advice provided by legal professionalsof England & Wales, irrespective of the nature of the advicegiven. This is particularly relevant to legal advice on taxationmatters given by accountants which is not privileged. Accordingly,disclosure could be enforced, for instance, by HM Revenue &Customs.
This article is for general guidance only. It provides useful information in a concise form. Action should not be taken without obtaining specific legal advice.