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The headline is misleading. The privilege is the client's not his solicitor's. Solicitors can invoke the the client's right to protect him.

No privilege issue arose here. The first instance and appeal judgments are well worth reading before anyone else succumbs to the temptation to weep and wail.

The solicitor was asked questions - in reality to trace assets - which his former client would have had to answer had he chosen to turn up at the trial. He could not have availed himself of any right to professional privilege to avoid answering. He would have been in contempt if he'd refused.

A solicitor cannot protect a right that his client does not have.

Some of the solicitor's dealings were with unconnected third parties. No privilege arises.

Two very useful judgments which thoroughlyreview the law.