If in-house counsel advise their coworkers based anywhere in the European Union on a competition matter, the conversations, e-mails, and documents aren’t protected by attorney-client privilege, according to a controversial decision handed down on September 17, 2007. General counsel across Europe roundly condemned Akzo Nobel Chemicals Ltd. v. Commission, which found that attorney-client privilege in antitrust cases occurring within the 27 European Union member states can only be claimed by attorneys who’ve passed the bar in an EU country and are affiliated with a law firm.
