On 23 January the Supreme Court decided by a majority of five to two that legal advice privilege (LAP) – or legal professional privilege (LPP) – only applies to qualified lawyers; that is solicitors and barristers. The decision came as a result of an appeal in the case of Prudential and one of its subsidiaries, and a special commissioner for income tax. Prudential had argued that advice given by its accountant should attract the same LPP as it would have had it been given by a solicitor.

In the introduction to the judgement, Lord Neuberger said: "The specific issue raised by this appeal is whether, following receipt of a statutory notice from an inspector of taxes to produce documents in connection with its tax affairs, a company is entitled to refuse to comply on the ground that the documents are covered by legal advice privilege (LAP), in a case where the legal advice was given by accountants in relation to a tax avoidance scheme. The more general question raised by this issue is whether LAP extends, or should be extended, so as to apply to legal advice given by someone other than a member of the legal profession, and, if so, how far LAP thereby extends, or should be extended."

Rejecting the appeal, Lord Neuberger said: "If we were to allow this appeal, we would therefore be extending LAP beyond what are currently, and have for a long time been understood to be, its limits. Indeed, we would be extending it considerably, as the issue cannot simply be treated as limited to the question whether tax advice given by expert accountants is covered by LAP."

The Law Society welcomed the decision, saying it "...maintains the existing certainty about the scope of LPP, an important human right of clients.

"The rule of LPP gives communications between a lawyer and their client absolute confidentiality, so that the advice cannot be disclosed to the court or third parties without the client's consent. The Supreme Court, the UK's highest court, in agreement with the Court of Appeal, emphasised that extending LPP communications to other professionals, such as accountants, was a matter for parliament, not for the courts."

The society's chief executive Desmond Hudson said: "A lawyer's duties and responsibilities to the client and to the courts are not available on a Pick'n'Mix basis. The relationship between a solicitor or barrister and his or her client is a precious human right, tested and refined by centuries of common law. Legal professional privilege supports the process of law, speeding the conviction of the guilty and securing the acquittal of the innocent."