Pub chat with solicitor is legally
privileged
As you may recall, and as previously reported, in the case of
Shell International Limited v Curless individuals employed by the
Respondent were overheard discussing a potential redundancy
situation in a pub.
These discussions were around an email sent by the solicitor to
their client (the Respondent) concerning a potential redundancy
situation and risks in relation to pursing a redundancy route for
dismissal, some of which related to discrimination.
Usually all legal advice is privileged and cannot be disclosed
in evidence unless there is evidence of iniquity.
In the EAT it was held that the email advised the employer how
to discriminate against Curless surmounting “the high bar of
iniquity” and therefore was not legally privileged. The
Respondent appealed against this decision on the basis that the EAT
had misinterpreted the email and had applied the wrong test for
iniquity.
