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,...

Template client letter (England and Wales): conflict of interest—acting for clients competing for the same objective; confidentiality safeguards and informed consent

Published by a LexisNexis Practice Compliance expert

Precedents

Thank you for instructing us to act on [ insert description of matter ]. We have sent you, under separate cover, a [ Client care OR Engagement ] letter along with our terms of business. This letter sets out our professional duties concerning conflicts of interest and Confidentiality, and asks for your informed consent before we continue to act.

Professional obligations

We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). In line with those duties, we cannot act where there is a conflict—or a significant risk of conflict—between our separate obligations to act in the best interests of two or more clients in the same, or a related, matter, unless one of two limited exceptions applies. These exceptions apply where our clients:

have a substantially common interest in relation to the matter, or a particular aspect of it, or
are competing for the same objective

Is there an actual or potential conflict of interest?

...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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