On 12 December 2025, the SDT summarily dismissed the SRA’s allegation that Claire Gill, a partner at Carter-Ruck and a leading specialist media and defamation solicitor, sent a letter containing an improper threat of litigation. The SRA had selected the case as a test case for alleged ‘SLAPPs’ (strategic lawsuits against public participation).
The Tribunal concluded that the material on which the SRA relied was not capable of establishing a case which should proceed to a full hearing. It considered that the letter was sent in pursuit of a legitimate attempt to protect the client’s reputation and was neither abusive nor improperly motivated, and that it would be “wholly inappropriate to hold a solicitor responsible for a client’s later-discovered fraud where the solicitor was unaware of it and was acting in good faith on instructions”.
The Tribunal was satisfied that the SRA’s case was based on hindsight rather than on evidence of professional misconduct.
Richard Coleman KC and Samuel Burns acted for Ms Gill, together with Justin Rushbrooke KC, instructed by Carter-Ruck. A note of the Tribunal’s decision is here. Fuller written reasons will follow.
