Legal professional privilege protects certain confidential communications from being compelled — by an opponent, a regulator, or even a court. For a solicitor it is one of the most powerful protections you can offer a client, but it is also narrow and easily lost. Knowing precisely what is covered, who owns it, and how it can slip away is part of the everyday work of advising clients and handling documents in litigation.
This lesson builds that understanding step by step:
- Nature, Purpose and Confidentiality — what privilege is, its two limbs, who owns it, and how it differs from ordinary confidentiality.
- Legal Advice Privilege — the elements needed to protect lawyer–client advice, and its limits for corporate clients and existing documents.
- Litigation Privilege — when contemplated litigation and dominant purpose bring third-party communications within protection.
- Joint and Common Interest Privilege — how privilege works when clients instruct jointly or share material with aligned parties.
- Waiver and Exceptions — how clients give up privilege expressly or by conduct, cherry-picking, and the crime/fraud exception.
- Mistaken Disclosure and Practice — what happens when privileged documents are sent in error, and how to claim privilege properly during disclosure.