The claimant sought an order for the disclosure by his solicitor of the identity of the author of an internet blog publishing critical material which, the claimant said, was its confidential information. The defendant’s solicitor had failed to comply with an order for disclosure.
Held: The application failed: ‘the information as to the Defendant’s identity was indeed the subject of legal professional privilege and thus protected (whether ‘absolutely’ or according to settled practice). Even if it were not, there are powerful reasons not to override the duty of confidence. It was not simply a piece of neutral background information, as would generally be the case with a client’s name, since both he and his solicitor were well aware that the Claimant was keen to establish his identity (for perfectly legitimate reasons): it was accordingly central to their discussions about the retainer that confidentiality should be maintained. ‘
Sir David Eady
[2014] EWHC 2293 (QB)
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Studdy v Sanders and others 1823
Legal professional privilege. . .
Cited – Regina v Manchester Crown Court ex parte Rogers (Legal Professional Privilege) Admn 2-Feb-1999
The police had sought disclosure from the applicant’s solicitors of records of the time at which the applicant arrived at the solicitors’ premises on a particular date and like documents.
Held: Such records are not privileged because they did . .
Cited – Miller Gardner Solicitors, Regina (on the Application of) v Minshull Street Crown Court Admn 20-Dec-2002
Police investigating crime obtained a warrant to search a solicitor’s offices for details of their clients. The solicitors appealed.
Held: The details required, namely dates of contacts with a certain telephone number were not legally . .
Cited – JSC BTA Bank v Solodchenko and Others ChD 5-Aug-2011
The claimant sought discovery of documents from the solicitors for a defendant said to be in contempt of court.
Held: The disclosure was required to support an existing finding of contempt and in enforcing the order for committal. Henderson J . .
Cited – Re Cathcart, ex parte Campbell CA 1869
The court considered a request for an order that a solicitor should reveal his client’s address.
Held: James LJ said: ‘If, indeed, the gentleman’s residence had been concealed; if he was in hiding for some reason or other, and the solicitor . .
Cited – Guaranty Trust Co of New York v Hannay and Co CA 1915
A claimant does not need to have a subsisting cause of action against a defendant before the court will grant a claimant a declaration. The court considered the ambiguity in the meaning of the word ‘jurisdiction’: ‘The first and, in my opinion, the . .
Cited – Fourie v Le Roux and others HL 24-Jan-2007
The appellant, liquidator of two South African companies, had made a successful without notice application for an asset freezing order. He believed that the defendants had stripped the companies of substantial assets. The order was set aside for . .
Cited – JSC BTA Bank v Ablyazov and Others ComC 15-May-2012
Their client had been found in contempt and sentenced to imprisonment. The solicitors were now subject to an application for disclosure of further details of how they contacted their client. The court considered the jurisdiction of the court to make . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Legal Professions
Updated: 02 November 2021; Ref: scu.534047
