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,...

Precedent client memo on disclosure, document preservation and legal professional privilege: guidance for employees on control, metadata and communications in civil litigation (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Precedents

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This template memorandum should be read and, if suitable, sent together with the relevant template letter to your client regarding disclosure:

Draft letter to client about disclosure—small claims track
Draft letter to client about disclosure

Confidential and privileged

[ insert date ]

[ insert addressees: [ insert addressees: senior managers/relevant employees and former employees/IT managers ] ]

[ [ insert case heading ] OR [ description of the case if pre-action ] ]

[ [ We ] OR [ the company ] ] may encounter a legal dispute in relation to [ insert matter/transaction subject of dispute ]. If the dispute is not brought to a conclusion, it is probable that we will be required to disclose relevant documents, including electronic records, that are or have been within [ [ our ] OR [ the company’s ] ] control, whether or not they support our case. That said, some relevant documents are protected from inspection (that is, actually seen) by [ our opponent OR name of opponent ]. These include materials that are ‘privileged’, for example certain confidential communications between [ [ us ] OR [ the company ] ] and our lawyers. Please see the...

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Mathew Purchase

Matrix Chambers

Mathew Purchase's practice includes all aspects of employment law, discrimination law, public law and human rights and civil liberties. He is on the Attorney General's B Panel and is a member of the Bar Pro Bono Unit and ELAAS. He is recommended in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500, which have described him as: ‘extremely intelligent’, ‘just superb - smooth, engaging and perfectly pitched’, and as someone who ‘always does excellent work’. Mathew has broad experience in public law and human rights, including community care, education, housing and civil actions against the police, from early advisory work to judicial review. Mathew has a strong interest in all aspects of education law and acts for parents/children, local authorities and schools at all levels. He has appeared in a number of judicial review claims; recent cases include R (UNISON) v Lord...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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