We are pleased to announce that Axel Landin, Partner at Bindmans, as our Next Generation Media Lawyer of the Month for June! Congratulations Axel.

Axel advises both claimants and defendants in defamation (libel and slander) disputes. He also advises clients on privacy law, including Convention rights, and the application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the torts of breach of confidence and misuse of private information. He is experienced in representing high profile political figures, companies, membership organisations and NGOs, high net worth individuals and clients without means under conditional fee agreements.

In addition to his Media Law practice, Axel is experienced in advising clients on regulation and Public Law. He has represented clients in judicial review claims, and in regulatory processes before the Independent Press Standards Organisation, the Electoral Commission, the Financial Conduct Authority, and parliamentary and local government standards authorities. He has also advised candidates, political parties and commercial clients on the statutory restrictions of, and criminal liability for, communications in election campaigns, as well as other aspects of UK election law.

Find out more about Axel’s journey into media law below:

What made you decide to become a lawyer?

For me, the law is about justice, and the protection and vindication of rights against their denial by the state or others. When done right, it allows ordinary people to stand up against the mighty and the powerful. I initially studied government and politics, which can serve as another arena for justice, but I was drawn to the law for its comparative consistency and reliability, aspects I sometimes found lacking in government.

You didn't start your career as a media lawyer - why did you decide to change specialisms? 

Having worked in politics over the years, I have gained an understanding how the media operates. Although I spent the first half of my career in the City, media work has been part of my practice from the very start. At Linklaters I worked on the phone-hacking litigation, and was able to bring to that my own extracurricular experience of working with and understanding the media and figures in the public gaze. However, it’s true that wasn’t the majority of my work, which was in the financial services sector. I still draw every day on the excellent training I received there, in terms of thinking commercially, putting myself in the client’s shoes, and quality of work product. But it is great to be able to combine earning a living with working in a sector that has been an independent passion of mine for many years.

Bindmans works on some very important cases. Can you give us a flavour of your work? 

Bindmans has a long history of undertaking public interest work, and that includes our media practice group. Unusually, we represent both claimants and defendants in media and communications list proceedings. My clients are a mix of politicians and figures in the public eye, NGOs, campaign groups, and ordinary people finding themselves in the media glare for the first time: Davids standing up against Goliath publishers. I have represented front-bench political figures accused of breaching lockdown regulations or libelled online by political extremists, an investigator uncovering sexual misconduct at a major charity following the MeToo campaign, and students misrepresented in culture wars-type media coverage, to name a few. I recently had the privilege of working on one of the first cases involving a defamatory AI deepfake unwittingly shared by a public figure.

Tell us about a time where you had to stay motivated and inspired when faced with challenges or setbacks (this can be personal or professional (or both!).

The people I represent are often going through the most difficult time in their lives. On a recent case, after a particular setback, my client (whose life had been ruined by false media coverage) was ready to throw in the towel. It is easy for that to get you down, as the lawyer, but I knew that I had to remain upbeat. I had developed a good rapport with the client, trying to understand things from his perspective as someone not used to contentious legal battles and the unique pressure of them, and gave him the encouragement to hold firm, which I’m glad he did because the battle was not over and we had successes after setbacks.

Since starting your legal career the press landscape / how journalists operate has changed dramatically. What trends have you noticed?

When I started out, social media was in its infancy. Among younger age groups, it is now the dominant source of news. That is a huge change and arguably our legislation has not caught up with it, leading to a disparity between how different types of publisher are treated at law, and in the means available to hold wrongdoers to account. Another, more recent trend is the emergence of defamation by deepfake. Publishers (particularly lay publishers) have had to adjust from a world where seeing was (usually) believing, and exercise caution before incurring liability for resharing material which, on its face, can look pretty convincing.

Which public figure (living or past) has inspired you and why?

 I am a huge admirer of former Supreme Court President Baroness Hale. I know that it is still harder for female colleagues to get ahead in our profession to this day, so to come into it at the time when she did, and rise to the very top (alone, as a woman, for a very long time) is remarkable. I also found her to be a voice for a humane, understanding approach to law, and she has been a voice for justice and for progressive values since retiring from the bench.

What advice would you give to aspiring lawyers?

Keep an open mind as you start out, experiment with different areas of the law and different types of practice. And however senior you get, always continue to learn from others in the profession.

In an alternative universe where lawyers didn’t exist and every job was paid exactly the same – what would be your job and why?

I worked as a schoolteacher for a period and found imparting knowledge to others to be hugely fulfilling (and in the same vein, I very much enjoy the part of my job that involves training juniors).