European Court Adviser Backs Privacy Protection for Law Firms

Legal advice provided by a law firm is generally confidential—whether it covers tax matters or company law, an adviser to the European Court of Justice said.

A tax authority, therefore, can’t issue a blanket order for it to surrender all available documentation relating to its relations with a client, Advocate General Juliane Kokott wrote in a non-binding legal opinion issued Thursday.

Such an order, according to Kokott, would constitute “interference with the right to respect for communications between lawyers and their clients” that is guaranteed by Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.