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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

Quinn Emanuel—James McSweeney

Quinn Emanuel—James McSweeney

London promotion underscores firm’s investment in white collar and investigations

Ward Hadaway—Louise Miller

Ward Hadaway—Louise Miller

Private client team strengthened by partner appointment

NLJ Career Profile: Kate Gaskell, Flex Legal

NLJ Career Profile: Kate Gaskell, Flex Legal

Kate Gaskell, CEO of Flex Legal, reflects on chasing her childhood dreams underscores the importance of welcoming those from all backgrounds into the profession

NEWS
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
In Ward v Rai, the High Court reaffirmed that imprecise points of dispute can and will be struck out. Writing in NLJ this week, Amy Dunkley of Bolt Burdon Kemp reports on the decision and its implications for practitioners
Could the Supreme Court’s ruling in R v Hayes; R v Palombo unintentionally unsettle future complex fraud trials? Maia Cohen-Lask of Corker Binning explores the question in NLJ this week
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