Maintaining Privilege in U.K. Regulator-Facing Investigations: Issues For Company Advisers

Dechert attorneys have contributed to a recently published book offering practical cross-border insight into corporate investigations.

The recent judgment approving the Rolls-Royce deferred prosecution agreement demonstrates that no company is too big for the U.K. Serious Fraud Office to pursue. Whereas the SFO has previously finalised two relatively small DPAs, the Rolls Royce case, led by the SFO, is the first truly global U.K. DPA enforcement proceeding. One important defence right available to a company in the U.K. is the right to maintain privilege over legal advice in matters where the company faces a declared or contemplated enforcement proceeding. This chapter explores the context in which a company may elect, or in other instances, feel strategically compelled, to abrogate privilege rights.

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