Legal groups file complaint against UK Lawyers for Israel director over alleged ethics breaches
Caroline Turner
Areeb Ullah reports in Middle East Eye on 13 August 2025:
Two legal advocacy organisations have filed a formal complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) against the director of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).
Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) and the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) accused Caroline Turner, a solicitor and UKLFI’s director, in a 114-page report of breaching professional standards and engaging in unregulated legal work to suppress solidarity with Palestine.
The complaint, which was filed on 5 August and made public on 13 August, alleges Turner has violated the SRA’s Principles and Code of Conduct, including through the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which are legal threats designed to deter free expression on matters of public interest.
PILC and ELSC want the SRA to investigate whether UKLFI, which is not regulated under any UK legal regulatory body, is in effect operating as a law firm, and to bring it under formal regulatory oversight. According to the groups, between January 2022 and May 2025, UKLFI sent at least eight threatening letters to individuals and organisations engaged in Palestine solidarity work. The letters, shared with the complainants by the recipients, allegedly show a pattern of “vexatious and legally baseless” correspondence aimed at silencing campaigners, academics and civil society groups.
“UKLFI is actively suppressing solidarity with Palestine,” a representative for the ELSC told Middle East Eye. “Our research documents how their threatening letters have triggered concrete reprisals – workers disciplined or fired, reputations smeared, and events cancelled under pressure.
“This is a systematic strategy to criminalise solidarity with Palestine and shield genocide complicity,” they said. “This complaint is a demand for accountability,” they added
PILC solicitor Paul Heron said: “No solicitor is above the SRA’s regulatory framework. We are calling for a full investigation into their conduct and into UKLFI as an organisation that effectively acts as a law firm. “The SRA has a duty to uphold professional standards and protect civil society from intimidation dressed up as law.”
A spokesperson for UKLFI Ltd denied claims made against them and said it “seeks to promote respect for the law in matters relating to Israel and the Jewish people by drawing attention to conduct which is or may be illegal and explaining the relevant facts and law.” “This sometimes upsets people who are not complying with the law and their supporters. They may seek to disrupt our work by making misinformed complaints to various bodies,” a spokesperson for UKLFI told MEE.