Akzo Nobel: Privilege the practical implications

Facilitator

Samantha Mobley, Partner, Baker & McKenzie

Subject matter

The long-awaited CFI judgment in Akzo squarely rejected calls that in-house lawyer communications should benefit from legal privilege in the same way as external lawyer communications.

The judgment is being appealed to the ECJ but, at least for now, the position is clear: only communications with external lawyers can be withheld from regulators under EC competition law.

However, the judgment also makes important statements on other aspects of legal privilege - many of which have daily implications for in-house lawyers in Europe.

The seminar will consider those implications and include practical tips on:

  • How to ensure your emails, memos and preparatory documents attract and retain legal privilege

  • How to deal with the Commission in the event of a dispute over privilege, including in a dawn raid scenario

  • The interface between the EC and UK rules on legal privilege, including whether UK privilege may lost when documents are disclosed to the Commission

  • The correct approach to be taken to external lawyers on in-house secondment and vice versa

Target audience

The seminar will be of interest to in-house counsel who have responsibility for their company's compliance with competition law, across all industry sectors.