In the recent case of Michael Curless v Shell International Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 1710, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment on the limits of the ‘crime-fraud-iniquity’ principle to legal professional privilege.
Although the facts of the case are unique, involving an overheard and indiscreet confidential conversation in a pub, anonymous disclosure to the claimant and an alleged scheme to dismiss an employee on the pretext of redundancy, the obiter remarks of the Court of Appeal provide some clarification as to the scope of the ‘crime-fraud-iniquity’ principle. Although the Court of Appeal indicated that this was an area of the law which the Supreme Court should consider, the case nonetheless serves as a reminder that the risks to legal professional privilege of iniquitous client conduct in the context of seeking legal advice remain very much alive.
