Law Council ‘extremely concerned’ by ATO’s privilege allegations

The Law Council of Australia says it is “extremely concerned” about claims by the Australian Tax Office that law firms may be trying to frustrate investigations into clients through the improper use of legal privilege.

ATO second commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn told the Senate inquiry into consulting last month that the attitude to legal professional privilege (LPP) at some law firms was “disappointing”, and cautioned against the trend of law firms expanding into non-legal advisory work.