Firms cleared of wrongdoing over Mayday protests

The two London-based law firms investigated by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) for allegedly advertising at the Mayday anti-capitalist protests earlier this year have both been cleared of wrongdoing in a report which criticised the 'inaccurate and misleading' press coverage of the event.The telephone numbers of Blavo & Co and Moss & Co appeared on a flyer distributed by 'legal advisers', who were on hand to give immediate legal advice to protesters.

Harshly critical articles appeared in the national press soon after the event, accusing both firms of advertising their services and criticising protesters for seeking legal advice resulting from the demonstrations (see [2001] Gazette, 10 May, 3).At the time, Moss & Co partner Andrew Katzen denied his firm had any involvement in the design of the card, and claimed that similar cards had appeared at protests for 20 years.The OSS investigation concluded earlier this month that neither firm had advertised its services at the protests, and said: 'The only risk of damage to the solicitors' profession has come from the inaccurate and misleading press coverage, for which the two firms were not responsible.'Louis Charalambous, whose firm CCL is representing Moss & Co, said: 'Having unfair and totally misleading allegations such as this splashed all over the Daily Mail is not an experience anyone would want to go through, and my client feels vindicated and relieved by the adjudication.'The OSS found that neither firm had any input into the design or distribution of the card, which merely set out the legal rights - including the right to a solicitor - of an arrested person, and so was not in breach of the rule forbidding solicitors to advertise.Mr Charalambous said the newspaper article was 'a direct attack on solicitors in general who seek to represent people who the Daily Mail traditionally see as targets'.He confirmed he had 'strongly advised' his client to take legal action against the paper, and would be seeking an apology and retraction.Blavo & Co was not available for comment.Victoria MacCallum