SFO v ENRC: Legal Professional Privilege Restored?

In recent years, legal professional privilege has been the subject of many high profile appeals. Cases such as Bilta v RBS and Three Rivers (No 4) demonstrate the extent to which the position on what constitutes privileged material has changed over the years. This has brought a lack of clarity and created concerns for both legal professionals and organisations which may find themselves on the receiving end of discovery and disclosure orders. However, the recent Court of Appeal judgment in ENRC v SFO to some extent restores the common law to a more conventional position, and allows legal advisors to sleep a little better.

What is Legal Professional Privilege?

Before delving into why this case is significant, it is helpful to understand that, in plain terms, legal professional privilege is broken down into two categories: