Though not a tax case, the decision handed down in the Akzo Nobel case by the European Court of Justice is of interest in this difficult area.

Inter alia, the case outlines a suitable method of dealing with material where privilege is in dispute in advance of a ruling. It also confirms that that the protection only applies to the extent that the lawyer is independent, that is to say, not bound to his client by a relationship of employment, and expressly excludes communications with in-house lawyers.

More details are available at http://curia.europa.eu/en/actu/communiques/cp07/aff/cp070062en.pdf.