Axel Landin is an Associate in our Media and Information team.
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.
Education and career
- Axel trained and qualified at a Magic Circle international law firm, and spent six years advising commercial clients in the City of London and Brussels, before specialising in media and privacy litigation (and other politically-sensitive litigation) at a boutique firm
- Between 2010-2014, Axel completed an M.A.Cantab at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge, in Politics and Law
- In 2015, he completed the LL.M, International Legal Practice at the University of Law
Experience
Axel’s recent cases (prior to joining Bindmans in 2023) include:
- Advising and representing the respondent to an application for an injunction brought by a high net worth individual seeking to prevent disclosure of allegations relating to his private life
- Representing a Member of Parliament in a claim for breach of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 following the inadvertent release of sensitive special category data of individuals
- Defending a defamation claim brought by a Member of Parliament against an opposition politician who had highlighted the MP’s involvement in referring businesses for PPE procurement contracts through the so-called ‘VIP-lanes’
- Advising a holder of high political office in relation to allegations that his office had breached publicity restrictions in the pre-election period
- Representing a longstanding Member of Parliament in an investigation by the parliamentary standards authorities into allegations of personal misconduct
- Advising a candidate in the 2021 election for Mayor of London in relation to defamatory statements made by opponents in the course of the campaign
- Advising an elected Police and Crime Commissioner defending a defamation claim brought by an electoral opponent who he was alleged to have accused of racism
- Representing a financial services firm client in a USD 30,000,000 breach of confidence claim brought by a competitor who alleged the defendant had unlawfully exploited its commercial secrets
- Representing clients in the litigation flowing from the phone-hacking scandal in British tabloid newspapers, having responsibility for handling a number of claims and all ongoing costs claims
- Representing a number of senior front-bench politicians facing allegations of breaches of lockdown restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic
More about Axel
- Axel is Secretary of the Unite Legal Workers Branch
- He is a previous office holder in the Society of Labour Lawyers. He is passionate about access to justice and previously served as a director of a local pro bono law centre
