Are counter terrorism laws interfering with freedom of the press? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 30th, 2015 in freedom of expression, media, news, police, privilege, search & seizure, terrorism by sally

‘A case of freedom of the press versus counter-terrorism laws? Peter Carter QC at Doughty Street Chambers, examines the police powers used to seize an investigative journalist’s laptop.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 27th November 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Deposits, dog hairs, doors and defamation – Nearly Legal

Posted November 23rd, 2015 in animals, appeals, defamation, deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news, privilege by sally

‘As if tenancy deposits weren’t complicated enough, now we can add libel claims to the consequences of a heated deposit dispute. It turns out that sending potentially libellous accusations to the deposit scheme adjudication service is possibly covered by qualified privilege.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 21st November 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Bar Council comments on Draft Investigatory Powers Bill – The Bar Council

‘Responding to the publication of the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill, Alistair MacDonald QC, Chairman of the Bar, said: “The ‘double lock’ requirement of needing both judicial and senior ministerial authorisation for the most intrusive investigatory powers is not as secure as it is made out to be.” ‘

Full press release

The Bar Council, 5th November 2015

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Respect the client’s right to legal privilege – MPs warned – The Bar Council

Posted November 2nd, 2015 in bills, investigatory powers, legal profession, press releases, privilege by tracey

‘The statutory protection of legally privileged communications between lawyers and their clients should be high on the agenda when Parliament debates major new surveillance legislation next month. The Bar Council and The Law Society have called for legal professional privilege to receive statutory protection in the forthcoming Investigatory Powers Bill.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Trumping the Trump – or how to meet a claim to privilege following discontinuance in a fundamental dishonesty claim – Park Square Barristers

Posted October 7th, 2015 in disclosure, evidence, fundamental dishonesty, news, personal injuries, privilege by sally

‘It is common practice for an unscrupulous claimant, to run a doubtful personal injury claim to the door of the court, hoping to force a settlement, and then, at the last minute, to discontinue, in order to avoid the risk of failure, a finding of fundamental dishonesty and a costs liability.’

Full story

Park Square Barrister, 18th September 2015

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Prisoners’ legal letters opened by prison staff, admits ombudsman – The Guardian

Posted September 29th, 2015 in confidentiality, news, ombudsmen, postal service, prisons, privacy, privilege by sally

‘Prisoners’ confidential legal letters to and from their lawyers and the courts have been wrongly opened by prison staff in half of cases investigated by the prisons ombudsman in the past year.’

Full story

The Guardian, 29th September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Impact of FOIA on legal professional privilege – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 15th, 2015 in documents, freedom of information, news, privilege by tracey

‘An intriguing summary has emerged on Lawtel (subscription required) of a decision of the Chancery Division (John Jarvis QC) in a case called Hallows v Wilson Barca LLP, which suggests that the duties imposed on public bodies by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) can be relevant to the common law doctrine of legal professional privilege.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 14th September 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Data breach management – making use of legal privilege – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 27th, 2015 in data protection, documents, news, privilege by sally

‘FOCUS: Businesses that experience data security breaches can use the law of legal privilege to investigate the circumstances of those breaches without fear that internal investigation documents will be used against them by regulators or litigants.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 26th August 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Refusing to respond to subject access requests – legal professional privilege, disproportionate effort and collateral purposes – Panopticon

Posted August 13th, 2015 in data protection, news, privilege by sally

‘The Information Commissioner’s Code of Practice on Data Protection steadfastly maintains that data controllers cannot refuse to respond to a subject access request unless one of the specific exceptions in the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) applies. However, there is a growing body of case law on the circumstances in which the courts will refuse to enforce compliance with subject access requests under s 7(9) of the Act, even where one of the specific exceptions under the Act does not apply.’

Full story

Panopticon, 12th August 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Dawson-Damer and others v Taylor Wessing LLP and others – WLR Daily

Dawson-Damer and others v Taylor Wessing LLP and others [2015] EWHC 2366 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 361

‘The purpose of section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 entitling an individual to have access to information in the form of his “personal data” was to enable him to check whether the data controller’s processing of it unlawfully infringed his privacy and, if so, to take such steps as the Act provided, to protect it. It was no part of its purpose to enable the individual to obtain discovery of documents that might assist him in litigation or complaints against third parties.’

WLR Daily, 6th August 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Appeal judges limit professional privilege where lives are at risk – Legal Futures

Posted August 11th, 2015 in appeals, mental health, news, nurses, privilege, restraint, solicitors by sally

‘Legal professional privilege can be qualified in the “rare circumstances” where it is necessary to impose a requirement that other people are present at discussions between lawyers and clients, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 10th August 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Regina v Brown (Edward) – WLR Daily

Posted August 4th, 2015 in appeals, crime, law reports, mental health, privilege, restraint, trials by sally

Regina v Brown (Edward) [2015] EWCA Crim 1328; [2015] WLR (D) 344

‘By way of an additional common law qualification or exception to the inviolable nature of legal professional privilege, and in what was likely to be an extremely narrow band of cases, it was appropriate to impose a requirement that particular individuals could be present at discussions between an individual and his lawyers if there was a real possibility that the meeting would be misused for a purpose, or in a manner, that involved impropriety amounting to an abuse of the privilege that justified interference.’

WLR Daily, 29th July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Council was entitled to refuse disclosure of planning documents, tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com

‘The First-Tier Tribunal has dismissed an appeal and held that following a freedom of information request Aylesbury Vale District Council was entitled to refuse disclosure of correspondence between its solicitor and the planning department.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 9th July 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Tribunal rejects request for correspondence between solicitor and planning officers – Local Government Lawyer

‘The First-Tier Tribunal has ruled that a district council was entitled to refuse to disclose correspondence passing between one of its solicitors and various members of its planning department.’
Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 30th June 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Start the clock – New Law Journal

Posted April 30th, 2015 in insurance, legal profession, news, privilege by sally

‘When does a contractual retainer arise & when does legal advice privilege apply, asks David Burrows.’

Full story

New Law Journal, 24th April 2015

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

GCHQ conducted illegal surveillance, investigatory powers tribunal rules – The Guardian

‘GCHQ, Britain’s national security surveillance agency, has been ordered to destroy legally privileged communications it unlawfully collected from a Libyan rendition victim.’

Full story

The Guardian, 29th April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Birdseye and another v Roythorne & Co and others – WLR Daily

Birdseye and another v Roythorne & Co and others [2015] EWHC 1003 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 169

‘It remained the case that a person had to establish as a prima facie case that he was a beneficiary before there could be any question of the court requiring a trustee or executor to disclose documents which would be protected by privilege if the applicant were not a beneficiary.’

WLR Daily, 15th April 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Legal professional privilege was waived, High Court rules in probate dispute – Litigation Futures

Posted April 17th, 2015 in legal profession, negligence, news, privilege, striking out by sally

‘The High Court has rejected an application to strike out part of a negligence claim on the grounds that they referred to matters protected by legal professional privilege.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 16th April 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The Cat’s Out of the Bag: legal advice privilege and the risks of being caught with a divorce lawyer – Family Law Week

‘Samuel Littlejohns, pupil at 1 Hare Court, examines whether the very fact that a party consulted a lawyer at a given time is privileged information, and the practical consequences of this for practitioners.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 27th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

MoD accused of refusing former detainee Yunus Rahmatullah justice – The Guardian

Posted March 31st, 2015 in intelligence services, interception, news, privilege, torture by sally

‘The government has refused to give an undertaking not to take advantage of any intercepted communications between a former detainee, who is suing the Ministry of Defence, and his lawyers.’

Full story

The Guardian, 30th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk