High Court holds that English law legal advice privilege can extend to such communications regardless of whether or not the lawyers are in-house practitioners.
In PJSC Tatneft v Gennady Bogolyubov & Ors.,[i] the English High Court held that legal advice privilege can apply to communications with foreign lawyers in certain circumstances. Specifically, privilege can extend to such communications if:
- The communications are between a client and its lawyers (whether or not they are acting “in-house”).
- Such communications are made in connection with the provision of legal advice.
- The lawyers with whom the client is communicating are acting in their professional capacity.
The English courts will not look into whether the foreign lawyers are “appropriately qualified” or recognized / regulated as “professional lawyers” as a matter of local law.