Wilson: Post-mortem needed
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should consider commissioning an independent KC to review its approach to prosecuting SLAPPs, a leading media lawyer has argued.
Iain Wilson, managing partner of London firm Brett Wilson, said there need to be a “post-mortem of the regulatory assault on media lawyers” that took place under previous SRA chief executive Paul Philip’s watch.
“Under him, the SRA appears to have responded to sustained pressure from campaigners and media organisations suggesting the existence of a SLAPP crisis,” he said.
Writing on Legal Futures, Mr Wilson – vice-chair of the Society of Media Lawyers – said complaints against media lawyers were “effectively encouraged” by the regulator.
“The triaging of complaints was ineffective or absent, with opportunistic litigants in person and media organisations weaponising the complaints regime. The volume of investigations [numbering 50 at one point] was then cited as evidence of a wider SLAPP problem.
He accused the SRA of undermining the rule of law by damaging the reputation of media lawyers and media law more generally “simply for exercising their clients’ rights”.
Three high-profile SLAPP prosecutions by the SRA have failed in recent months and Mr Wilson noted that in the High Court ruling earlier this year overturning the findings against Osborne Clarke partner Ashley Hurst, the judge asked whether the SRA “succumbed to pressure from campaigners – what Collins Rice J describes as ‘background noise’”.
He said independent academic research commissioned by the Society of Media Lawyers found the evidence of a UK SLAPP problem to be “inaccurate and misleading”.
“There is a danger that campaigners may be seeking to use the so-called SLAPP ‘crisis’ as a means of softening defamation law by the backdoor. Defamation law was overhauled in 2013 and a stronger and broad public interest defence was introduced. There is no bar to publishing properly researched public interest journalism.
“Following the three failed SRA prosecutions, the regulator should now pause and review its approach, perhaps commissioning an independent KC to review the basis upon which these prosecutions were brought.
“A further review should be carried out of outstanding SLAPP investigations. In the meantime, lawyers should be able to represent clients without worrying that properly conducted litigation will attract regulatory sanction.