果冻影院

Legal Professional Privilege: A Conversation with Lord Neuberger

Lord Neuberger and Stephen Mayson, Honorary Professor of Law, 果冻影院 Laws

Legal professional privilege is claimed to be 鈥渁 fundamental human right guaranteed by common law, and a principle which is central to the administration of justice鈥�.听 It has been developed by the judges to promote the observance of the law, and is intended to encourage full, frank and confidential communication between clients and their legal advisers.听 Privilege exists for the client鈥檚 benefit, and is absolute: in broad terms, unless advice is sought to enable the commission of a crime, only the client can waive privilege and the legal adviser cannot otherwise disclose their communication.听 But the modern world poses increasing challenges for privilege.听 Who is 鈥榯he client鈥� (particularly in a corporate context)?听 How does privilege interact with investigation, prosecution and deferred prosecution agreements? Who is a 鈥榣egal adviser鈥� (legally qualified, qualified abroad, in-house)?听 In what circumstances is a legal purpose 鈥榙ominant鈥� when a client seeks advice?听 What constitutes 鈥榩rivileged communication鈥� in a fast-moving, globalised and hyper-regulated world?

To explore these issues, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, recently retired President of the Supreme Court, will be in conversation with Professor Stephen Mayson (Honorary Professor and member of the Centre for Ethics and Law at 果冻影院).听 Lord Neuberger presided in the Supreme Court decision in R (on the application of Prudential plc v. Special Commissioners of Income Tax [2013] 2 AC 185.听 The Court took a narrow view of 鈥榣egal adviser鈥� and declined the invitation for further judicial development of legal professional privilege to include legal advisers who are not qualified lawyers.听 The starting point for the conversation with Lord Neuberger will explore whether this conclusion truly supports the fundamental human right and the administration of justice at the heart of privilege, as well as being at odds with the structure for authorisation to practice reserved legal activities under the Legal Services Act 2007.

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