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08 December 2023
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Regulatory
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NLJ this week: Axiom Ince, SLAPPs & the difficulties of legal regulation

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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

Clarke Willmott—Kevin Joynes & Neil Gosling

Clarke Willmott—Kevin Joynes & Neil Gosling

Clarke Willmott bolsters housebuilder expertise in Birmingham

Carpmaels & Ransford—Kevin Cordina

Carpmaels & Ransford—Kevin Cordina

Firm adds former Simmons Simmons patent head to engineering and tech team

ACTAPS—Sally Goodger

ACTAPS—Sally Goodger

Freeths strengthens its voice in national disputes with ACTAPS committee appointment

NEWS
Murder could be split into first and second degrees, under Law Commission proposals for a historic overhaul of homicide offences
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Australian-style ban on social media for under-16s will be difficult to enforce, lawyers have warned
One in two women in law say their current working pattern is unsustainable for their long-term health, according to a report by the Next 100 Years project
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has highlighted a lack of safeguards where people use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help with legal problems
Irwin Mitchell partner Adrian Budgen, a specialist in mesothelioma cases, has been awarded the OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List
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