In recent years, the inviolability of legal professional privilege and, conversely, barriers to the smooth running of lawyer/client relationships have been recurring and important topics for legal practitioners.

Legal privilege has been recognised as "a cornerstone in the legal system" in a Lord Chancellor's Department consultation paper and a "fundamental human right" by Lord Hoffmann in R v Special Commissioner and another ex parte Morgan Grenfell and Co Ltd. But despite this, the introduction of certain statutory provisions and the Court of Appeal's decision in Three Rivers DC and others v The Governor and the Company of the Bank of England appeared to be eroding privilege.

The House of Lord's decision in Three Rivers was welcomed as re-establishing the traditional understanding of legal advice privilege. But is that fully the case? And to what extent do requirements contained in, for instance, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 pose a threat to the ambit and sustainability of legal professional privilege, and to the smooth running of relationships?