In-house lawyers should restrict the number of people to whom they circulate confidential legal advice because the practice of 'copying in' numerous recipients risks the privilege that attaches to them being lost, delegates were told in Budapest.

Nicola Mumford, a partner at Wragge & Co in Birmingham, said the doctrine of privilege remained alive and well in England and Wales in contrast to the US, apart from an attack under the money laundering regulations.


However, she added 'e-mail is lethal' and warned that lawyers should be careful about how confidential information was disseminated both internally and externally. 'It should be done on a strictly need-to-know basis,' she advised.



In-house counsel should also consider whether oral rather than written communication was more appropriate. 'Have a conversation rather than sending an e-mail or picking up a pen,' said Ms Mumford.


All communications relating to legal advice between the client and its lawyer, in-house or external, by e-mail or otherwise, should be marked 'Legally privileged' she said, but added this was not a catch-all strategy and should be used discriminatingly to maximise its benefit.


More generally, she said: 'The important thing is to identify who your client is, and when you have identified your client, don't allow them to delegate the responsibility for seeking or communicating legal advice to anyone else.'


In-house lawyers should ensure that other employees of the company understand the privilege pitfalls and how to avoid falling into them.


'If you need assistance, contact your external counsel,' she added.