European Court of Justice Reaffirms that Communications with In-House Counsel Are Not Privileged in Europe
On September 14, 2010, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") reaffirmed its long-standing position that under European Union law communications with in-house lawyers in antitrust matters are not protected by the attorney-client privilege (or the legal professional privilege as it is known in the European Union). The court's ruling in Akzo provides an explicit caution to all HR professionals and lawyers. Before undertaking any sort of investigation and to avoid potentially devastating disclosure of privileged communications, they must carefully consider the application of the attorney-client privilege in the jurisdiction in question. In many instances, the only effective means of protecting information from disclosure is to involve outside counsel. To learn more about the decision and its implications for employers and in-house counsel, please continue reading Littler's ASAP The European Court of Justice Reaffirms that Communications with In-House Counsel Are Not Privileged in Europe by Nick Linn.
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