Axiom fund set up to fill legal aid ‘black hole’, court hears

A solicitor accused of dishonestly funnelling nearly £20m of investors’ money from a legal financing fund into his own pocket has told jurors the fund was set up to fill ‘the big black hole in the market’ after access to legal aid was reduced. Timothy Schools is said to have received ‘just over £19.5m’ from the Cayman Islands-registered Axiom Legal Financing Fund before it collapsed in 2012. He allegedly used some of the money to pay for an estate in Cumbria, a personal trainer and football season tickets.