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NLJ this week: Axiom Ince, SLAPPs & the difficulties of legal regulation

08 December 2023
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Regulatory
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Regulating legal services is a tricky game, as John Gould, senior partner, Russell-Cooke, writes in this week’s NLJ

He looks at two recent controversies—the rise, fall and fatal collapse of Axiom Ince, and concern about SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation).

On the fallout from Axiom Ince, Gould writes: ‘It has been suggested that more than £60,000,000 may have been lost… The impact on very large numbers of clients and employees is likely to be substantial and the damage to public confidence, severe.’

He examines what went wrong and whether the current system is sufficiently geared to cope with an Axiom Ince-style collapse. On SLAPPs, on the other hand, the regulatory difficulties are more to do with definition. Gould writes that there are no ‘easy choices’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Partner joins family law team inLondon

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Private client division announces five new partners

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Banking and finance team welcomes partner in London

NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
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