It's a privilege, or is it? Centro raises Issues for in-house counsel

In-house counsel may assume that any legal advice they give is covered by professional privilege, but is this always the case?

While it's clear that formal letters or emails of advice should be covered, what about notes made by a third party of discussions between the lawyer and the board?

This issue arose in the long-running Centro litigation. PWC had sought disclosure of various notes taken by the company secretary of discussions between the directors and in-house counsel. The court had originally held that such notes should not be disclosed but PWC appealed, arguing that it had not been demonstrated that legal professional privilege applied, particularly as no evidence was given by the actual people whose discussions were being recorded.