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Axiom Ince, SLAPPs, Dixit Shah…who would be a regulator?

08 December 2023 / John Gould
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Opinion , Regulatory , Profession
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Regulating the legal services industry is not an easy job, as John Gould explains

One of the key challenges faced by legal regulators is how to apply limited resources to achieve the best outcomes in the public interest. Recently two controversies have brought the question of how regulatory risks are prioritised into sharp focus.

Any risk management professional will tell you that the threat posed by a risk is a combination of how likely it is to occur and the impact of the consequences. A nuclear meltdown is less likely to occur than a late running train, but the impact is much greater. Setting priorities must take both into account.

Inevitably different regulatory stakeholders have different priorities but, conventionally, the key interests are those of the regulated profession and the consumers of their services. Each group’s collective interests should largely overlap because both have an interest in ensuring that regulation is cost-effective and maintains high levels of confidence in the regulated profession. But there are other

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NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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