UK ex-minister's lawyer wins 'SLAPP' appeal in latest loss for regulator

By Sam Tobin

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - An Osborne Clarke partner on Tuesday won his appeal against a finding of misconduct over his representation of a then-British minister, in the latest defeat for English regulators bringing disciplinary action over allegedly improper legal threats.

Ashley Hurst, who represented then-finance minister Nadhim Zahawi over questions about his tax affairs in July 2022, was fined 50,000 pounds ($67,230) after he was accused of conduct which amounted to a SLAPP, a strategic lawsuit against public participation.

The independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in late 2024 had found that Hurst had improperly tried to stop a former tax lawyer who had written articles about Zahawi from making public an email Hurst sent him threatening legal action.

But Hurst applied to the High Court in London which ruled in his favour on Tuesday, saying the tribunal failed to examine whether Hurst was arguably correct to say his email should not have been published.

The ruling is the third defeat in two months for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) of England and Wales in SLAPP-related cases, after two similar disciplinary cases were rejected in the space of a week in December.

Hurst said in a statement that he was "relieved to have been exonerated by this comprehensive judgment", and Osborne Clarke said it was "delighted with this result".

An SRA spokesperson said: "We are considering the judgment before deciding on next steps."

Last month, media law partner Christopher Hutchings from the firm Hamlins was cleared by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal after the SRA accused him of improperly threatening a journalist with contempt of court proceedings.

Days later, a partner at London law firm Carter-Ruck won her bid to throw out a case over an allegation she had made an improper legal threat on behalf of fraudulent cryptocurrency business OneCoin and its founder Ruja Ignatova.

Claire Gill, who specialises in defamation, privacy and data protection, had previously represented OneCoin and Ignatova, who is known as the "Cryptoqueen" and remains at large.

The tribunal ruled that Gill was unaware of the fraud when sending the letter and the SRA's case was "based on hindsight rather than evidence of professional misconduct". The SRA has filed an appeal against that ruling.

The case is Ashley Hurst v Solicitors Regulation Authority, High Court of England and Wales, AC-2025-LON-001874.

For Hurst: Paul Stanley KC of Essex Court Chambers; and Ian Helme of Matrix Chambers, instructed by CMS

For the SRA: David Price KC of David Price Solicitors & Advocates; and Michael Collis of Capsticks, instructed by Capsticks

($1 = 0.7437 pounds)