The Law of Privilege

The law of privilege is recognized as a fundamental right essential to the function of the rule of law. This book provides a comprehensive reference to legal professional privilege in both contentious and non-contentious contexts, addressing legal advice and litigation privilege, as well as privilege against self-incrimination and without prejudice privilege.

Providing detailed coverage of the nature of privilege, how it arises, how it is lost, and its limits, the book begins with an outline of the law and policy underlying privilege, before providing guidance on issues that arise regularly in practice. These issues include exceptions (with a detailed analysis of the iniquity exception), multi-jurisdictional issues, procedural matters, and challenges like pre-existing and partly privileged documents. It also covers the loss of legal professional privilege (including loss of confidence, and implied and express waiver), the linked area of being without prejudice privilege, its scope, exceptions, rules governing waiver, and the position in respect of mediation, as well as joint and common interest privilege.

Systematically updated to cover all significant developments in privilege law, this fourth edition considers the wealth of recent case law that has been published and includes new sections addressing the issues of privilege that arise in criminal proceedings and Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

Written by experts from Fountain Court chambers, The Law of Privilege is unrivalled for its logical structure and clarity, with extensive cross-referencing and useful summaries ensuring ease of understanding and quick access to information. It is an essential reference tool for practitioners in all fields of practice and students of Civil and Criminal Procedure, providing a concise route through the complexities of privilege law.