Legal Professional Privilege in Criminal Investigations and Proceedings

Legal Professional Privilege in Criminal Investigations and Proceedings concerns the law of legal professional privilege and its practical application in criminal cases and internal investigations, providing a single point of reference for all criminal practitioners regardless of the type of case in which they are involved.

Focused and structured around the practical issues that criminal lawyers encounter, the book examines each key stage in criminal proceedings and the issues that typically arise, such as at the police station and during an interview under caution, when gathering evidence for trial, and during the course of self-reporting to the authorities. Among the many issues discussed are the application of the crime-fraud exception in criminal proceedings, the effect on privilege of disclosing the reasons for advice to answer no comment, the relationship between privilege and powers of search and seizure, conducting privilege reviews, reference to privileged material in an expert’s report, prosecution privilege and disclosure obligations, inadvertent waiver by lawyers at court, and appeals based on criticism of previous legal representatives and fresh evidence. The authors also offer guidance and analysis on the extent to which privilege can apply to internal investigations, including witness interviews and fact-finding reports.

Legal Professional Privilege in Criminal Investigations and Proceedings will provide vital guidance for criminal defence lawyers - both solicitors and barristers - as well as those involved in the criminal justice system more widely, including prosecution lawyers, investigators, independent counsel undertaking privilege reviews, and members of the judiciary who are asked to determine privilege issues in criminal proceedings.

Vivien Cochrane, Partner, Shearman Bowen, Will Hayes, Senior Associate, Kingsley Napley

Vivien Cochrane is a solicitor and Partner at Shearman Bowen. She has spent her career exclusively practising in criminal defence and has had experience defending in cases across the full spectrum of the criminal law. Vivien is frequently instructed in cases with complex factual backgrounds and with novel points of law and has a particular expertise in defending in large-scale and high-profile investigations. She is an expert on the law of legal professional privilege in criminal proceedings and is an Honorary Lecturer at Queen Mary University School of Law.

Will Hayes is a barrister and Senior Associate at Kingsley Napley. He has a wealth of experience representing individuals and corporate clients in all types of criminal cases and at every stage of proceedings, with a particular focus on white-collar crime, internal investigations and cases with an international dimension. He is an expert on the law of legal professional privilege and regularly advises on complex privilege issues in a wide range of criminal cases and internal investigations.