legal advice privilege

Legal advice privilege (sometimes known as “advice privilege”) is a form of legal professional privilege which protects communications between a solicitor and acting in his professional capacity. The form of privilege acts as a procedural and substantive legal right and has effect when litigation is not in progress or within contemplation of obtaining or giving of the legal advice in question. As such, it does not protect all communications between a lawyer and the client. When it applies, the client is not required to disclose the contents of the communication to a court (by way of disclosure or otherwise), the police, or any other authority, subject to limited statutory exceptions.

Where third parties for the client act as agent for the client (such as the officers of a company, its employees and contractors or in-house solicitors) when communicating with the solicitor, privilege will usually extend to such communications, as will communications initiated by the solicitor with third parties, provided the purpose for the communication was to obtain or give legal advice.

The privilege belongs to the client and not the solicitor, and there it is only for the client to assert privilege and not within the power of the solicitor to do so. In the event of the appointment of a liquidator or administrative receiver of a company, the privilege will vest with that person and not the directors of the company.

Usage: Legal advice privilege does not protect any and all communications between a solicitor and the client.

Related Words: privilege; legal professional privilege; litigation privilege.