O’Kane at law firm Peters & Peters lamented “a very unattractive development that’s taken place in our system over the last 20 or 30 years” in which the views of a client and lawyer are blurred in the eyes of the public. “If a lawyer acts for somebody who is challenging their sanctions, that doesn’t mean that they agree with Russia’s actions in Ukraine,” he retorted. “This is just palpable nonsense.”
Yet for others, moral questions remain over work which could help legitimize the wealth acquired by Russian oligarchs. Taylor, of Spotlight on Corruption, queried the ethical choice of “allowing someone who has made their wealth in, or benefited from a kleptocratic regime where there is no rule of law, to then use London and the U.K.’s strong rule of law protections to protect that wealth.”
Law firms, she added, “are not just ordinary businesses — they are members of a public profession who enjoy certain benefits that attach to their status, including secrecy with their client through a relationship of privilege, and those benefits are entrusted to them on the basis that they act ethically and in keeping with the public interest.”
Return of the litigants
For now, business is once again booming.
Recent data from London’s commercial courts — which often cover big ticket contract disputes — suggest Russians are again flocking to British courts to do battle, and increasingly able to find law firms happy to represent them.
Analysis by public affairs agency Portland found that despite a dramatic drop-off of Russian litigants in commercial courts in 2024, this year has seen a “dramatic rebound” of 60 Russian litigants, the highest figure since records began. That number could be higher if including Russian-owned businesses which have moved their headquarters outside of Russia.