Shareholder Access To Privileged Documents: Views From England And The United States

In England and the United States, legal professional privilege or attorney-client privilege is considered fundamental to the administration of justice, allowing clients to make confidential, full, and frank disclosure to their legal counsel and, in turn, be properly advised. Such is its importance that the law in those jurisdictions closely guards privilege and there are few exceptions to its application.

In this comparative piece, we explore the extent to which shareholders can access privileged documents in England and the United States under exceptions known as the "shareholder principle" and the Garner doctrine, respectively, and we consider the practical implications.

England: "Shareholder Principle" Punctured