Inside the privilege circle

Abdulali Jiwaji unpacks the High Court’s decision in Glencore & the implications for privilege claims during disclosure

In Aabar SÀRL v Glencore, the High Court considered the scope of the seminal 2003 decision on legal advice privilege, Three Rivers (No 5).
The Glencore decision clarifies that Three Rivers (No 5) does not restrict the extent to which legal advice privilege can apply to communications within a non-lawyer client team.
This increases the scope for claiming privilege over communications generated within a corporate in connection with seeking and receiving legal advice.

The question of how communications with a corporate client may be managed so as to preserve a claim for legal advice privilege was considered by the High Court in Aabar SÀRL and others v Glencore Plc and others [2026] EWHC 877 (Comm) (Glencore) in April this year.

This is a point that often arises in the context of disclosure—the disclosing party may well claim privilege in an expansive manner, which is then challenged by the receiving party.

The Three Rivers (No 5) approach

The judgment in Glencore

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Inside the privilege circle

Issue: 8174 / Categories: Features , Profession , Disclosure

Abdulali Jiwaji unpacks the High Court’s decision in Glencore & the implications for privilege claims during disclosure

In Aabar SÀRL v Glencore, the High Court considered the scope of the seminal 2003 decision on legal advice privilege, Three Rivers (No 5).
The Glencore decision clarifies that Three Rivers (No 5) does not restrict the extent to which legal advice privilege can apply to communications within a non-lawyer client team.
This increases the scope for claiming privilege over communications generated within a corporate in connection with seeking and receiving legal advice.

This is a point that often arises in the context of disclosure—the disclosing party may well claim privilege in an expansive manner, which is then challenged by the receiving party.