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NLJ this week: SLAPPed shut?

05 September 2025
Issue: 8129 / Categories: Legal News , Defamation , Dispute resolution , Fraud , Human rights
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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

England and Wales is a popular forum due to claimant-friendly defamation laws and the ‘loser pays’ rule. Whittam highlights the psychological toll on defendants and the difficulty of early dismissal under current procedural rules.

lthough new anti-SLAPP provisions came into force in June 2025, they only apply to economic crime, leaving many abusive claims unchecked. Whittam calls for broader reform to protect public interest speech and prevent litigation from becoming a tool of censorship. Without stronger safeguards, free expression remains vulnerable to legal bullying.

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NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Rylatt and Robyn Laye of Anthony Gold Solicitors examine recent international relocation cases where allegations of domestic abuse shaped outcomes
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
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