French Attorney-client Privilege: Threats On The Horizon?

On March 11, the Criminal Chamber of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) handed down four rulings that drastically narrow the scope of French legal privilege.

Under French law, when a dawn raid is carried out in a lawyer's office or home, but also on the client's premises, any seizure of a "document relating to the exercise of the rights of the defense and covered by the legal privilege of the defense or advice"¹ is illegal and can be challenged.

These two cumulative criteria, in force since March 1, 2022, have two main exceptions:

• Firstly, legal privilege cannot be enforced against criminal authorities if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting the attorney of having committed or attempted to commit, as perpetrator or accomplice, the offense or an offense related to the one justifying the dawn raid².