Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Client definition

What does Client mean? In legal practice, a client is the person or organisation for whom a lawyer or law firm acts and to whom professional duties are owed. This includes individuals, companies, partnerships and public bodies, whether instructing directly or through an agent. The term is a general professional expression rather than a statutory definition; its scope is shaped by engagement terms (the retainer) and by professional conduct rules and case law on duties of care, conflicts of interest, confidentiality and legal professional privilege. Key features include: identifying the correct client at the outset (especially for corporate clients, where the client is the entity,...

EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV) and Brexit—Private Client guidance for UK will drafting, cross-border succession and estate administration

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

This page brings together Private Client materials addressing EU Law, notably Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 (the EU Succession Regulation, also called Brussels IV), and the consequences of Brexit for private clients and their advisers. For broader guidance on EU law, see EU structure (EU Law)—overview, EU legislative process (EU Law)—overview, EU judicial system (EU Law)—overview and EU rights and policies (EU Law)—overview within the EU Law practice area. Principles of private international law (conflict of laws) govern how UK law and EU law interact. See Overview: Private client and private international law—overview.

EU Succession Regulation and Will drafting

Will drafting—application of the EU Succession Regulation
Validity of Wills—foreign element
Use of foreign Wills
Where a testator holds assets in the UK and real property in France and wishes English law to apply to their worldwide estate, should they execute separate English and French Wills (each electing for English law under the EU Succession Regulation) or...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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