ligarchs trying to protect their reputations instruct London lawyers because they are intimidatingly expensive, MPs have been told.
Journalists who have investigated super-rich individuals with links to the Russian regime also claimed that clients do not even realise some of the tactics employed by law firms trying to prevent publication of books or articles.
Solicitors have come under fire from politicians, journalists and freedom of speech campaigners over so-called ‘SLAPP’ litigation, designed to string out litigation, increase costs and ultimately stop their clients’ activities being reported. It has come under increased scrutiny since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as focus turns to oligarchs with possible links to the Kremlin and efforts to silence those writing about them.
Appearing before the foreign affairs select committee yesterday, Tom Burgis, a journalist at the Financial Times, said the biggest threat to free speech now came from lawyers acting for individuals seeking to protect their reputation. He said law firms were leading a ‘war by costs’ and forcing those seeking to highlight corruption into submission.
‘Our biggest obstacles are not hit squads or cyber attacks, it is firms in London working day in, day out to attack free speech in the interests of very rich and powerful people who rightly deserve scrutiny,’ said Burgis, who named Carter-Ruck, Schillings, Mishcon de Reya and Taylor Wessing as among the firms who have sought to pressure and intimidate journalists into dropping stories. The firms have denied any wrongdoing.
Read full article at. https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/london-lawyers-intimidate-journalists-to-protect-oligarchs-mps-told/5111875.article
