What is Legal Professional Privilege?

LPP is a cornerstone of legal systems in many countries and is designed to protect the confidentiality of communications between lawyers and their clients. This protection ensures that clients can discuss their legal issues, without fear that these discussions will be exposed publicly or used against them in court. LPP includes two main categories:

1. Legal Advice Privilege: Protects confidential exchanges between lawyer and client that are made for the purpose of giving or receiving legal advice.
2. Litigation Privilege: Applies to communications made in preparation for anticipated or ongoing litigation, potentially involving third parties.

These privileges encourage transparency and honesty between clients and their legal counsel, crucial for effective legal representation.

The Post Office Case: Misuse of Legal Privilege

The current controversy began with an inquiry into the Post Office’s practices, focusing on how it handled the Horizon IT system issues. Horizon’s faults led to numerous wrongful accusations against sub postmasters, resulting in legal action. During the inquiry, a former executive at the Post Office, conceded that the organisation might have used LPP to “cloak” internal communications since 2011. This was especially evident in advice to mark documents as privileged to shield them from potential litigation disclosure.

Jason Beer KC, counsel for the inquiry, highlighted a significant deviation from standard legal practice, suggesting that documents were marked as privileged not because they were related to legal advice but to prevent their disclosure. This strategic misuse of LPP was further complicated by revelations regarding the Horizon system’s vulnerabilities, like unauthorized remote access by Fujitsu, which could manipulate transaction data—a critical point that remained undisclosed.

Ethical and Legal Implications

The misuse of LPP in the Post Office scandal is illustrative of a deep ethical breach and a potential legal misconduct. Normally, LPP serves to protect legal discourse, but using it as a shield for non-legal communications undermines its function. The “crime-fraud exception” to LPP indicates that privilege is not absolute; it does not protect communications that facilitate a crime or fraud. In this context, the misuse of LPP could potentially lead to legal repercussions for those involved.

Misusing legal privilege not only jeopardizes individual rights but also erodes public trust in legal institutions and mechanisms. It is crucial for legal professionals and organizations to uphold the integrity of LPP, ensuring it is used appropriately.

For more information please contact Bhavini Kalaria at Bhavini.kalaria@haroldbenjamin.com