Clifford Chance

Risk of confidential information misuse bars firm from acting further

8 May 2014

Law firms can act against their former clients, but not in circumstances where they were given confidential information and where there is a real – not just theoretical or fanciful – risk that the information will be misused.

The recent High Court decision in Georgian American Alloys, Inc v White & Case LLP concerned a law firm that acted against its former clients' owners in London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) proceedings and High Court proceedings. The case illustrates the high evidential burden which law firms must discharge to show that there is no real risk of misuse of the confidential information received from their former clients.

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