Disclosure is the stage of litigation where each side reveals the documents relevant to the dispute — and that includes documents that harm your own client's case, not just the helpful ones. For a solicitor, handling it properly is a daily responsibility: you advise clients on what they must reveal, what they can legitimately hold back, and how to protect confidential advice and settlement discussions. Get the balance right and you safeguard your client; get it wrong and you risk sanctions, costs, or worse.
This lesson takes you through the whole picture, in order:
- Disclosure Fundamentals — what disclosure is, how it differs from inspection, and which documents count.
- Standard Disclosure and the List — the four categories you must disclose, the search standard, and the list and signed statement.
- Preservation, Continuing Duty and Specific Disclosure — preserving documents early, the ongoing duty, and challenging incomplete disclosure.
- Extended Disclosure in the Business and Property Courts — the five models and how the court tailors them issue by issue.
- Legal Professional Privilege — legal advice privilege and litigation privilege, and what each protects.
- Exceptions and Waiver of Privilege — when privilege is lost, waived, or disclosed by mistake.
- Without Prejudice and Calderbank Offers — protecting settlement talks and using offers on costs.
- Collateral Use and Sanctions — limits on using disclosed documents and the penalties for non-compliance.