When a business faces a dispute or an internal or regulatory investigation it is important that the organisation can undertake enquiries and seek legal advice freely, without fear that the results of its research will ultimately be disclosable to the court or other parties. Privilege can enable an organisation to withhold documents without any adverse inferences being drawn. A proper understanding of privilege helps clients and their lawyers to obtain advice and information without risk of exposing or compromising their position. A lack of understanding and a loss of privilege, however, can prove fatal to a case.

In this chapter from Walker Morris' little green book of dispute resolution in England and Wales, we explain the law of privilege and we share some of our top tips and practical advice for the protection of this important legal right.

It's available to download here.

Click here to view our chapter on Settlement and click here for our chapter on Disclosure and Inspection.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.