Emails between Discreet Law and Prigozhin’s Russian lawyers, seen by openDemocracy, revealed that, even before the case was filed, the Russian side speculated about the difficulty Higgins would face recovering costs from a sanctioned individual should they lose.
Higgins’ solicitors made a formal complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) about Discreet Law’s role in the case. An investigation by the professional watchdog is ongoing.
The SRA can impose fines and restrictions on the firm if it finds fault. But the solicitor who acted for Higgins has called for Discreet Law to be struck off, essentially having its licence to practise removed.
“I don't think anything less than a striking-off would be appropriate in this instance, quite frankly,” Matthew Jury told openDemocracy.
openDemocracy asked Roger Gherson to explain the structure and connections between his various firms, but he did not respond personally. However, openDemocracy received two individual replies from his London firms.
A spokesperson for Gherson Solicitors LLP said: “As lawyers, we are unable to disclose confidential information about the legal services that we have provided to our clients. As you have seen, information about the firm is publicly available on the firm’s website as well as on the websites of the SRA and Companies House. As required, any changes to the firm’s legal form have been notified to and approved by the SRA.”
And a spokesperson for Discreet Law said: “As you will appreciate, as lawyers we are unable to disclose confidential information relating to our former clients. It is public knowledge that Discreet Law LLP acted for Mr Prigozhin and our position is that at all times we complied fully with our legal and professional obligations.”
London has been identified in research by the Foreign Policy Centre as the SLAPPs capital of the world. It found wealthy individuals, including members of corrupt ruling elites, exploited the UK legal system to shut down scrutiny of their financial affairs and actions with the assistance of a handful of specialist firms. Concerns about such cases and their impact on democracy have prompted the government to promise new legislation, but none has yet been timetabled in Parliament.
Susan Coughtrie, director of the Foreign Policy Centre and co-chair of the UK anti-SLAPP coalition, said: “The role of lawyers clearly needs much greater scrutiny and regulation, both in terms of the potential role they play – wittingly or unwittingly – in enabling corrupt figures to whitewash their money and reputations, as well as assist in shutting down public scrutiny of alleged wrongdoing through the use of SLAPPs.”
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