The Court held that a plaintiff who sues its former solicitor for professional negligence cannot obtain broad suppression and non-publication orders under the CSNPO Act to preserve client legal privilege against third parties, where the basis is a generalised assertion that the proceedings disclose privileged communications relevant to intended future litigation. While the Court did not find that privilege had already been waived by the filing of a redacted statement of claim, it held that the orders sought were not 'necessary' to prevent prejudice to the administration of justice, particularly given the alternative of prosecuting the third-party claim first. The Court expressly left open whether targeted non-publication orders based on demonstrated concrete prejudice from disclosure of specific privileged communications might be available in an appropriate case, and did not resolve whether the UK concept of 'limited waiver' from ENRC v Dechert applies in Australia.
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