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United Kingdom
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Legal professional privilege definition What does Legal professional privilege mean? Legal professional privilege is the protection that keeps confidential lawyer–client communications, and certain related documents, out of disclosure to courts, opponents, regulators and investigators. In practice, it is an umbrella (portmanteau) term for two heads of privilege: legal advice privilege (confidential communications between a lawyer and client for the purpose of giving or receiving legal advice) and litigation privilege (confidential communications with lawyers or third parties, and related documents, created for the dominant purpose of reasonably contemplated or existing litigation). It is a common law doctrine developed in case law (with some statutory recognition in specific contexts), applies...
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Legal professional privilege for in-house lawyers in England and Wales: LAP, litigation privilege, SRA guidance, internal investigations, common interest and without prejudice, waiver/loss, and international comparisons
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Practice notes
What is legal professional privilege?
This Practice Note is aimed at in-house lawyers, including those working within law firms. It explains what legal professional privilege (LPP) means, how it operates, and who owns it. The Note also sets out how LPP can be lost or waived and summarises privilege issues in selected other jurisdictions. It covers legal advice privilege and litigation privilege, the two distinct limbs of LPP. Where appropriate, it draws on SRA guidance for in-house lawyers. See section: SRA guidance for in-house lawyers. Although parts of the law on privilege remain untested and open to academic discussion, in-house practitioners will typically decide if privilege applies by practically applying core principles and using professional judgement.
LPP is an umbrella concept comprising:
- legal advice privilege (LAP), and
- litigation privilege
It protects the confidentiality of written and oral communications between lawyers and clients. As a fundamental right, it entitles a party to withhold material from disclosure to a third party or a court. Documents that are confidential but not privileged do not enjoy this heightened protection.
Why is LPP important?...
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Web page updated on 21/05/2026
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