Legal privilege was claimed in English litigation for communications between a Scottish client and a Scottish solicitor practising in London.
Held: ‘the same principle that would justify an Englishman consulting his English solicitor would justify a Scotchman consulting a Scotch solicitor.’
The court described those communications between solicitor and client which attracted legal privilege as ‘professional communications in a professional capacity.’ It was now sufficient for privilege if communications passed as professional communications in a professional capacity, even though they were not made either during or relating to an actual or even to an expected litigation.
Judges:
Sir Richard Kindersley VC
Citations:
(1859) 4 Drew 485, [1859] EngR 385, (1859) 62 ER 186
Links:
Cited by:
Adopted – Minet v Morgan CA 1873
A connection with litigation is not a necessary condition for legal privilege to be attracted to a document.
The law on legal privilege had not at once reached a broad and reasonable footing, but reached it by successive steps. . .
Cited – Minter v Priest HL 1930
The House was asked whether a conversation between a person seeking the services of a solicitor in relation to the purchase of real property and the solicitor was privileged in circumstances where the solicitor was being requested to lend the . .
Approved – Macfarlan v Rolt 1872
Communications between a client and his foreign lawyers were treated as being entitled as a matter of course to the same legal advice privilege as communications with English lawyers in like circumstances. . .
Cited – Prudential Plc and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Another SC 23-Jan-2013
The appellants resisted disclosure to the revenue of advice it had received. It claimed legal advice privilege (LAP), though the advice was from its accountants.
Held: (Lords Sumption and Clarke dissenting) LAP applies to all communications . .
Cited – In re Duncan, decd, Garfield v Fay 1968
Ormrod J rejected a submission that where foreign lawyers are involved no privilege is recognised by an English Court if privilege is not recognised by the municipal law of the forum of the foreign lawyer. He said: ‘The basis of the privilege is . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Legal Professions
Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.194265