In A v B and the FRC [2020] EWHC 1492 , a company which believed that internal governance and compliance documents (including a risk register and board minutes) had been created with privilege faced the decision of Mr Justice Trower that they were in fact not privileged. All firms (especially where they are regulated) would do well to check that relevant internal documents they are creating are properly protected by privilege so that they are not subsequently disclosable to a third party. Where, at the time of creation, specific thought is not given to a document’s contents and the privilege rules, there is a real risk (as in this case) that it will be found by a Court to be disclosable; and significant damage could be done to the firm’s interests as a consequence. We have extensive experience of advising clients regarding privileged and non-privileged workstreams/communications and would be pleased to assist with updating firms’ internal systems in this regard.

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