British law firm coached universities on how to obtain sweeping protest bans

Revealed: Shakespeare Martineau LLP, which helped Cardiff get year-long ban on unauthorised action, promoted court orders at webinar

A law firm that helped a UK university obtain a year-long ban on unauthorised protests, which could lead to students being jailed for up to two years, has quietly coached several others on how to take similar legal action, the Guardian can reveal.

Shakespeare Martineau LLP, which represented Cardiff University during proceedings that led to it being granted a sweeping anti-protest injunction this month, promoted the controversial type of court order to universities at a webinar last October, according to documents obtained by the Guardian and Liberty Investigates under the Freedom of Information Act.