UK solicitors warned not to act as ‘hired guns’ to silence critics of super-rich

theguardian.com:

Law firms have been warned by their regulator that they should not act as “hired guns” to silence critics of the wealthy, amid a spate of allegations of abusive litigation by Russian oligarchs since the invasion of Ukraine.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has revealed that it is investigating 40 cases of alleged strategic lawsuits against public participation (Slapps). There are “significant concerns being raised about solicitors making meritless claims on behalf of oligarchs to stifle public discourse about corruption or money laundering”, it said in a report published this week.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has heightened scrutiny of the super-rich using litigation to try to silence critics and journalists reporting on allegations of corruption. That has in turn increased scrutiny by MPs and campaigners of British lawyers who act for wealthy foreign clients, including those subject to financial sanctions from the UK or its allies.

“Solicitors are not simply ‘hired guns’,” the SRA wrote. “That means they should not bring cases which are not properly arguable, bring excessive or oppressive proceedings, or act in a way which could mislead or take advantage of others during proceedings.”

The SRA also noted that lawyers have an obligation to report potential Slapps to the regulator. Its review of 25 firms found three instances where lawyers failed to report potentially abusive litigation.

One alleged Slapp case being investigating by the SRA is action by a London-based law firm on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian oligarch who runs the Wagner group, a notorious mercenary army. Wagner has been accused of human rights abuses and murdering civilians in Mali and Central African Republic, and it has taken an