London court limits SRA access to client communications — TimesLIVE
The High Court in London, United Kingdom, has ruled that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) does not have the power to require lawyers to provide information protected by legal professional privilege during investigations into possible misconduct. TimesLIVE reported, citing Reuters.
Carter-Ruck and its client's lawsuit
The law firm Carter-Ruck and its client Mohamed Amersi, who made donations to the then-ruling Conservative Party as well as to Reform UK, brought the claim against the SRA. The regulator opened an investigation into them in 2023 and requested materials from Carter-Ruck's client files.
The court concluded that the SRA cannot compel lawyers to disclose information covered by legal professional privilege. Such protection generally applies to communications between a lawyer and a client unless the client waives it.
Carter-Ruck, which often represents prominent public figures, welcomed the ruling. Amersi compared the protection of legal correspondence to the confidentiality of a patient's medical records.
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SRA plans to challenge the ruling
The SRA said it would seek to challenge the ruling. The regulator's head of investigations, Jonathan Peddie, said that the ability to establish the truth in many cases could be limited without access to information protected by legal professional privilege.
The group Spotlight on Corruption said that without access to law firms' internal information, the SRA would be unable to properly carry out its functions. According to Reuters, the ruling was another court setback for the regulator in cases concerning allegedly improper legal threats known as SLAPPs — strategic lawsuits against public participation.
One of three such setbacks for the SRA around the turn of the year was the dismissal in December of proceedings against a Carter-Ruck partner related to her representation of OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova.
