Europe’s largest association of corporate general counsel has asked the Swiss government to bolster legal professional privilege for foreign in-house lawyers working in the country. The call comes after the Swiss government put forward a draft bill to grant resident corporate counsel a right to legal professional privilege – a protection that does not exist in the EU.

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Europe has asked the Swiss Federal Council to ensure that the proposed privilege right protects the foreign offices of Swiss-headquartered companies. ACC Europe has also asked the government to remove a requirement of one year’s legal practice in Switzerland before the privilege applies.

EU states are currently awaiting a European Court of Justice judgment on whether legal professional privilege should extend to in-house lawyers. In the Akzo Nobel case, the European Court of First Instance confirmed a 1982 ruling that communications between company staff and their in-house counsel should not be privileged.

The Swiss legislation would grant resident in-house lawyers ‘professional secrecy’ concerning the ‘products of their legal advice and forensic work’ (see [2009] Gazette, 11 June, 2).

The move could enhance the attraction of Switzerland as a base for company headquarters. Media firm Yahoo! Europe moved its headquarters to Geneva last year.