Legal advice privilege: High Court guidance on definition of client and lawyers' working papers

In The RBS Rights Issue Litigation, Re [2016] EWHC 3161 (Ch), Hildyard J held that, for the purposes of legal advice privilege, the meaning of client is narrowly defined, following Three Rivers District Council and others v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 5) [2003] EWCA Civ 474. The judgment also considers the bank's claim that certain documents were privileged on the basis that they were lawyers' working papers, and whether English law was the appropriate law for determining privilege where the litigation had connections with the US.

Note: Although it was anticipated that this decision would be appealed to the Supreme Court, we understand that the bank has decided not to pursue an appeal.