Robert Bond (robert.bond@bristows.com) is Partner & Notary Public at Bristows LLP in London, UK.

The US and the EU have different approaches to the privilege afforded to lawyers with respect to the protection of disclosure of confidential information related to the attorney-client relationship, particularly in investigations—and in the EU especially in relation to antitrust investigations by the European Commission. In the US, legal privilege is wider than in the EU, and recent cases in the EU have narrowed the claim of privilege, which in-house counsel and compliance officers should take note of.