Accountants denied legal advice privilege by Supreme Court

In what may be the final chapter of a long-running case, a majority of the Supreme Court has held that legal advice privilege should not be extended to advice given in communications between professionals (non-lawyers) and their clients ([2013] UKSC 1).

This is the case even where that advice is legal advice which the professional is qualified to give. The case arose out of advice provided to Prudential plc by its accountants, PwC, in relation to a tax avoidance scheme. As part of its investigation into the scheme, HMRC served notices on Prudential requiring disclosure of documents relating to the scheme and its implementation.