Public shut out of prosecution of solicitor over attempted ‘blackmail’

Good Law Project has taken on leading civil society organisations The Bureau for Investigative Journalism and Spotlight on Corruption as clients,  as they challenge a decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to hear the “blackmail” case against Christopher Hutchings in private.

Hutchings, a partner at London law firm Hamlins LLP, is alleged to have threatened a journalist with contempt of court proceedings – carrying a possible jail term – if the journalist refused to agree to his client’s demands. The Solicitors Regulation Authority say that this threat – allegedly made during a phone call between Hutchings and the journalist’s solicitor – amounts to blackmail. 

The SRA also claims Hutchings said that a barrister advised his client they had a “strong case” against the journalist. However, internal documents disclosed to the SRA are said to show that this was false and that this was not the barrister’s view. 

Hutchings denies all of the allegations.

The SDT decided to hold the case in private in order to protect confidential correspondence between the lawyers involved and their clients.

Good Law Project’s clients will make submissions before the SDT tomorrow to seek to overturn their decision. 

When solicitors are accused of bad behaviour – particularly behaviour which seeks to silence journalism on important issues – the public must be able to see justice being done. 

Good Law Project has instructed leading counsel on behalf of the organisations, who will highlight the irony of the SDT preventing journalists from reporting on proceedings about a solicitor alleged to have used improper means to silence a journalist.