Recent Ruling Highlights Different Disclosure Requirements For Accountants And Solicitors

Question: what is the extent of solicitors' duty of disclosure, and in particular is there a duty to disclose information gained from acting for one client to another?

The decision in Harlequin Property (SVG) Limited v Wilkins Kennedy (a Firm) [2016] EWHC 3188 (TCC) held that accountants do not owe such a duty and in his finding the judge noted, "a solicitor acts in a different professional, regulatory and ethical context to an accountant." Before we turn to the solicitor's duty, let us briefly look at the facts of this suitably dramatic case.

The claimants, Harlequin Property (SVG) Limited and Harlequin Hotels and Resorts Limited, the developer and operator of luxury Caribbean resorts ("Harlequin"), engaged the defendant firm of accountants and business advisors, Wilkins Kennedy ("WK"), in relation to a new resort. Allegedly relying on WK's advice, Harlequin entered into a "very loose" arrangement with contractors, ICE Group ("ICE"), to complete the first phase