Following revelations in The Times (paywalled) that eight law firms are being investigated over the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence alleged victims of sexual abuse, the Law Society of England and Wales has told MPs that action is being taken over the inappropriate use of such mechanisms.

The Society's assurance of action comes against a backdrop of growing concern about the inappropriate use of NDAs, with the number of claims under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) having more than doubled in six months. This follows the SRA putting out a warning notice in March of this year that stressed that improper use of NDAs would be considered as a breach of the code of conduct; some argue that the SRA should be taking a tougher line.

Law Society president, Christina Blacklaws, said that NDAs must never be used in a bid to suprress information about illegal behaviour. [...] Pressuring victims of sexual harassment into signing any kind of document, especially if they don't have legal advice, is illegal and unenforceable.

The Society will be releasing a Practice Note for lawyers, as well as issuing plain-english guidance to assist those those presented with NDAs and confidentiality clauses.