The Good Law Project, a left-wing legal campaign led by Jolyon Maugham KC, has restructured as an offshore trust in Jersey.. This move has sparked accusations of hypocrisy from legal experts who point to the group's previous attacks on offshore financial structures.
The Jersey Trust and the Avoidance of Regulatory Oversight
The Good Law Project (GLP),which began in 2017 as a non-profit company limited by guarantee, has shifted its legal structure to become an offshore trust in Jersey. According to the report, director Jolyon Maugham KC orchestrated this change to mimic the characteristics of a charity—specifically the fact that such entities are not owned by any single individual—while operating under a board. However, this transition allows the Good Law Project to bypass the strict regulatory oversight typically imposed on registered charities by the Charity Commission.
This structural pivot is part of a broader tension between activist legal groups and state regulators. By positioning itself as a trust in Jersey, the Good Law Project gains a layer of financial and operational autonomy that traditional UK non-profits lack, effectively creating a hybrid entity that enjoys the prestige of a charity without the corresponding transparency requirements.
From Reform's 'Offshore Bonanza' to GLP's Own Tax Haven
The move to Jersey has drawn sharp criticism from legal professionals, including veteran barrister Barbara Rich, who described the restructuring as "enormously hypocritical." As the report notes, the Good Law Project has a history of aggressively criticizing the use of offshore arrangements by others. specifically, in 2024, the Good Law Project published a piece titled "The offshore bonanza powering Reform's far-Right rhetoric," targeting the financial setups of the Reform party.
This reversal highlights a recurring theme in modern political campaigning where the tools of financial opacity are weaponized against opponents but adopted for internal utility. The contrast between the Good Law Project's public stance on tax havens and its own relocation to Jersey creates a significant credibility gap that critics argue undermines its moral authority in the courtroom.
Rishi Sunak and the Battle Against 'Lawfare'
The controversy surrounding Jolyon Maugham KC arrives amidst a larger political crackdown on "lawfare"—the use of legal systems to achieve political goals. Former Tory leader Rishi Sunak has explicitly pledged to target activist lawyers who he claims use judicial reviews to frustrate the will of Parliament.. The Good Law Project has been a primary practitioner of this strategy, frequently using the courts to challnege government decisions and public bodies.
The shift to an offshore trust may provide further ammunition for those who view the Good Law Project not as a public interest group, but as a political entity using the legal system for disruption. By insulating its governance in Jersey, the group may be attempting to shield itself from the very political and legal pressures that Rishi Sunak and his allies seek to apply.
Matthew Scott's Critique and the Silence of GLP
Beyond the structural hypocrisy, the Good Law Project's method of funding has come under fire. Criminal barrister Matthew Scott suggested that the group "constantly wraps itself in the clothing of sanctimonious moral rectitude" to secure crowdfunding from the public. This suggests that the group's public image is carefully curated to solicit donations for its various legal challenges.
Despite the gravity of these accusations, several key questions remain unanswered. A spokesperson for the Good Law Project did not respond to requests for comment, leaving it unclear why a Jersey trust was the only viable option for achieving their goals or how they reconcile this move with their previous publications. Furthermore, it remains unverified how this change specifically affects the tax status of the funds raised through their public crowdfunding campaigns.
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