Jack Rogers examines the SRA’s intervention over the controversial SLAPPs practice
On 28 November 2022, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) issued a warning notice setting out the regulator’s concerns in relation to the use of lawsuits aimed at preventing legitimate public interest material from entering the public domain, known as SLAPPs.
What is a SLAPP?
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation. There is no current legal definition for what amounts a SLAPP. The key feature of a SLAPP is to prevent public interest information from being published by targeting acts of ‘public participation’, which will include activities such as journalism and whistle-blowing.
Typically, SLAPPs will seek to stop the release of information relating to importance soc...
“One of the key themes highlighted in the Warning Notice was that of inappropriately labelling correspondence in a way that is intimidating but inaccurate…”
