United Kingdom > London > Dispute resolution > Defamation and privacy
Index of tables
Defamation and privacy
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Leading individuals
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- Susan Aslan Aslan Charles Kousetta LLP
- Kevin Bays Davenport Lyons
- Benjamin Beabey Farrer & Co
- Robert Clinton Farrer & Co
- Jonathan Coad Lewis Silkin LLP
- Philip Conway Conway and Conway
- Rod Dadak Lewis Silkin LLP
- David Engel Addleshaw Goddard LLP
- Tony Jaffa Foot Anstey
- Caroline Kean Wiggin LLP
- Jaron Lewis Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP
- Keith Mathieson Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP
- Razi Mireskandari Simons Muirhead & Burton
- Julian Pike Farrer & Co
- David Price QC David Price Solicitors & Advocates
- Geraldine Proudler Olswang
- Keith Schilling Schillings
- Graham Shear Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
- Niri Shanmuganathan Taylor Wessing LLP
- Robin Shaw Davenport Lyons
- Simon Smith PSB Law LLP
- Michael Smyth Clifford Chance
- Mark Stephens Finers Stephens Innocent LLP
- Mark Thomson Atkins Thomson
- Nigel Tait Carter-Ruck
- Dan Tench Olswang
- Adam Tudor Carter-Ruck
- Gerrard Tyrrell Harbottle & Lewis LLP
- Alan Watts Herbert Smith LLP
- Jeremy Clarke-Williams Russell Jones & Walker
Carter-Ruck is ‘pre-eminent in the field’ of defamation and privacy claimant work, and is praised for its ‘strength through the whole team, from the senior partners through to the junior solicitors’. The nine-partner team provides a ‘master-class service’, and is ‘extremely responsive’ as well as ‘fair, balanced and professional’. It successfully acted for the Prime Minister of Bahrain in relation to a complaint against The Sunday Times; and also advised Professor Robert Service and Dr Rachel Polonsky regarding a complaint over anonymous reviews of their works posted on the Amazon website. Other clients include Sir Elton John, Simon Cowell, Kate and Gerry McCann, Michael Winner, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Tesco, Leeds United FC, and Al Jazeera. Adam Tudor is ‘thorough’, and has ‘excellent knowledge of the law’; Claire Gill is ‘excellent’; Nigel Tait is ‘cool and calm, and a tactical genius’; and Alasdair Pepper stands out for his ‘pragmatic’ approach.
‘Top-notch defendant practice’ Davenport Lyons provides clients with ‘commercial, sensible, clear and succinct’ advice, and has a ‘thorough understanding of the publishing industry’. It continues to act for notable clients such as MGN Ltd, Express Newspapers and Private Eye, and its ‘impressive’ client roster also includes HarperCollins, Carlton Books, and Macmillan Publishers. The ‘first-rate’ Kevin Bays and ‘personable’ and ‘dependable’ Robin Shaw are singled out, and the team’s more junior members are also ‘of the highest calibre’. Philip Conway left the firm in January 2011 to join Conway and Conway.
Providing a ‘personal, no-nonsense service’ David Price Solicitors & Advocates is a ‘first-class’ boutique that ‘punches well above its weight’. Headline work included acting for the Daily Telegraph, in relation to a libel claim brought by tennis player Robert Dee. The firm also regularly advises clients such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority and The Law Society on defamation matters. ‘Realistic and patient’ name partner David Price was recently appointed as a QC.
The team at Farrer & Co delivers a ‘high-quality service’, and is ‘extremely efficient’ and ‘pleasant to deal with’. Headline work included defending News Group Newspapers (News of the World) in relation to ongoing allegations of phone hacking by newspaper journalists. It is also advising The British Library on the legal issues relating to the digitising of its hard copy newspaper archives. Key individuals include the ‘exceptional’ Julian Pike, and the ‘first-rate’ Benjamin Beabey. Associate Michael Patrick is ‘highly recommended’, alongside solicitors Patrick Callaghan and Rowena Cordrey.
Geraldine Proudler heads an ‘excellent team’ at ‘leading firm’ Olswang, which includes the ‘standout’ Dan Tench and Ian Felstead, who was promoted to the partnership in May 2010. Key work included advising Ernst & Young LLP and several of its partners in a high-profile libel claim. It also advises Tom Cruise, Tamara Mellon, Microsoft, Expedia and ITV.
Noted for its ‘practical approach and sheer depth of knowledge’, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP’s ‘edge comes from being a defendant-only practice’. The three-partner team is ‘quick and user friendly’, and advises a broad range of clients including Google UK, Associated Newspapers, Bloomsbury, the Financial Times, Independent News & Media, Times Newspapers, and Trinity Mirror. Team head Jaron Lewis is ‘very focused on client needs’; David Hooper is ‘excellent’; and the ‘pragmatic’ Keith Mathieson has ‘an enormous amount of knowledge on this area of the law’.
A ‘firm of choice for celebrities’, Schillings is renowned for its strong reputation management practice, fielding a ‘high-quality team’ of five partners with ‘excellent knowledge of defamation and privacy law’; it is ‘highly qualified’ and ‘delivers excellent results’. Its high-profile client base includes names such as Madonna, Kate Winslet, Nicolas Cage, Daniel Craig, Angelina Jolie, Russell Brand, David Walliams and Christiano Ronaldo, and it also acts for corporate clients such as HBOS, Gap, Harrods, Royal Mail Group and Syco. Recommended partners include the ‘expert’ Rachel Atkins; Gideon Benaim; Rod Christie-Miller; John Kelly; and the ‘renowned’ Keith Schilling.
The ‘excellent’ team at Atkins Thomson has a ‘wealth of experience in the field of defamation and privacy’. Headed by renowned ‘experts’ Graham Atkins and Mark Thomson, the firm advises a number of high-profile clients including Sir Michael Parkinson, Lily Allen, Kate Beckinsale and Jude Law. The firm is acting for a number of clients in relation to the recent high-profile phone hacking allegations, and is also assisting with complaints of paparazzi harassment.
Headline matters for the ‘exceptional’ team at Finers Stephens Innocent LLP included advising Julian Assange in relation to the legal difficulties surrounding Wikileaks; and advising the governments of Jamaica and Mauritius regarding a review and restructuring of their libel laws. The three-partner team is ‘very knowledgeable, and has exceptional expertise in UK libel law’. Mark Stephens is ‘first rate’, and Sue Thackeray is also highly recommended. Nicola Solomon left for a role as general secretary of The Society of Authors.
Rated as ‘absolutely first class’, Harbottle & Lewis LLP’s practice is ‘knowledgeable, experienced and astute, and has excellent strength in depth’. Clients include various senior members of the Royal Family, David and Victoria Beckham, Simon Fuller, Kate Moss and Sir Alex Ferguson. Gerrard Tyrrell is ‘one of the best media lawyers in Britain’, and works alongside ‘excellent’ senior associates Louise Prince and Jo Sanders.
The ‘fantastic’ team at Simons Muirhead & Burton provides pre-publication advice to a number of major book and magazine publishers including Time Out, Random House and Orion Publishing, and acts for a growing number of film companies. It has also handled a number of high-profile libel instructions (both claimant and defendant), recently successfully representing the claimant in an action against Slough Borough Council after the claimant was wrongly placed on its Violent Persons Register. Team head Razi Mireskandari is a ‘brilliant lawyer’; Louis Charalambous is ‘first rate’; Martin Soames is ‘extremely knowledgeable’; and Stephen Shotnes is ‘excellent’. The firm also benefits from the expertise of in-house barrister Lucy Moorman.
With ‘excellent business understanding’, the three-partner team at Taylor Wessing LLP is valued for its ‘solid, practical advice’ and ‘fast responses’. Key work included advising the Evening Standard in relation to a libel action commenced by Jacqueline Lait, the former Conservative Party MP for Beckenham. Other clients include American Media, Associated Newspapers, Macmillan Publishers and The Motley Fool. Team head Niri Shanmuganathan has an ‘excellent understanding of media law and is fully aware of the 24/7 needs of clients’. Neil White and Chris Jeffery are also recommended; and senior associate Timothy Pinto is ‘outstanding’.
Led by the ‘impressive’ Caroline Kean, the two-partner team at Wiggin LLP is ‘committed, hardworking and capable’. It successfully advised Trinity Mirror in defending the Sunday Mercury regarding its investigation into a possible telecommunications pyramid selling scheme, and acted for Times Newspapers Ltd in successfully fending off a PCC complaint by Andrew Wakefield, the doctor at the centre of the controversy surrounding the MMR vaccine. Kean is a ‘staunch defendant lawyer’ singled out for her ‘vast intellect’ and ‘strategic sense’. Amali de Silva is ‘excellent’.
Addleshaw Goddard LLP’s ‘first-rate’ and ‘proactive’ team has a ‘strong’ reputation management practice, acting for well-known companies and their officers; it advises high-profile names such as Barclays Bank, British Airways, Co-Operative Group, Primark Stores and Tiger Aspect Productions. It also advises on defamation matters for its strong corporate client base. Practice head David Engel is ‘excellent’, and managing associate Korieh Duodu is also recommended.
Led by the ‘formidable’ Susan Aslan and ‘experienced’ Sue Charles, headline work for the team at Aslan Charles Kousetta LLP included advising Channel 4 Television, Studio Lambert and producer/director Jane Preston in a defamation action brought by Matt Fiddes, who featured in a documentary on the arrival of the famous Jackson family in the UK. The team also acts for CinemaNX, and continues to advise Reed’s stable of over 60 magazines including New Scientist, Estates Gazette, Computer Weekly and Farmers Weekly.
Notable work for the ‘commercially pragmatic’ team at Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP included advising Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International in connection with a BBC Panorama broadcast about the West African cocoa trade. It also advises ActionAid, Bill Kenwright Ltd, Citizens Advice, Portman Group, Shelter, and Times Newspapers. Team head Rupert Earle is ‘outstanding’; and Martin Kramer and Sean Egan are also recommended.
The ‘excellent’ team at Charles Russell LLP has ‘strength in depth’, and stands out for its expertise in television matters, acting for ITV, Channel 4, ITN and APTN, among others. It also advises on defamation and privacy matters, for clients such as The Football Association. Team head Duncan Lamont and Nick Armstrong are ‘incredibly experienced’, and associate James Quartermaine is ‘an excellent lawyer’.
‘Highly competent and timely in its advice and work’, the team at Collyer Bristow LLP recently welcomed Kate Macmillan from boutique firm Gallant Macmillan LLP. Team head Steven Heffer is ‘very good at getting to the core of an issue’, and Dominic Crossley is also recommended. The firm acts for Max Mosley in libel, harassment and privacy matters, and is leading his application in the ECHR challenging the current application of privacy law in England and Wales.
Russell Jones & Walker is known as the firm of choice for defamation work for the Police Federation, but also has a strong practice advising private clients. It advised a Dyfed Powys police officer in a successful libel action against ITV Wales/S4C, after the officer was identified in error as the subject of criminal proceedings. Team head Jeremy Clarke-Williams is ‘sensitive to the needs of clients’. The firm recently suffered a blow with the departure of joint practice head Sarah Webb to Payne Hicks Beach.
The team at Withers LLP is ‘excellent in all respects’; its ‘ability to assimilate and engage makes it easy and effective to deal with’. Key clients include the RSPCA, Renault Formula 1, Anton Du Beke, and Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. Practice head Amber Melville-Brown has ‘excellent technical and commercial acumen’, and Jennifer McDermott is also recommended.
Key individuals in Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP’s ‘top-notch’ team include Graham Shear, Ian De Freitas, and senior associate Joby Davies.
Bindmans LLP advises both claimants and defendants in libel and privacy proceedings, and recently represented Chris Bryant MP, Brian Paddick, Lord Prescott and Brendan Montague in high-profile judicial review proceedings against the Metropolitan Police. Department head Tamsin Allen is praised for her ‘practical and sensible approach’.
The ‘prompt and proactive’ the team at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP is headed by Tim Hardy.
DLA Piper UK LLP is ‘highly recommended’ for its work in the area.
Andrew Hearn heads the team at Dechert LLP.
The ‘renowned’ Tony Jaffa leads the team at Foot Anstey.
Goodman Derrick LLP’s practice is led by the ‘knowledgeable’ Paul Herbert.
H2O Law LLP is recommended for its expertise in reputation management.
Christopher Hutchings recently joined the team at Hamlins LLP from M Law.
Gordon Williams heads the ‘high-quality’ team at Lee & Thompson .
The team at Lewis Silkin LLP is ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘prompt’.
Alex Fox heads the team at Manches LLP.
Paddy Gardiner recently joined Michael Simkins LLP as practice head from Eversheds LLP, while Catherine Fehler left for Swan Turton.
Ramona Mehta heads the team at Mishcon de Reya, which is known for its reputation management expertise.
At recently established firm PSB Law LLP, Simon Smith ‘is outstanding, and provides an extremely high level of service’.
Reed Smith is noted for its ‘high-quality and reliable advice’. It acted for a Hollywood actor in a defamation claim regarding an unauthorised biography.
Keith Ashby heads the team at Sheridans.
The team at Swan Turton is led by the ‘excellent’ Catherine Fehler who joined from Michael Simkins LLP. Former team head Jonathan Coad left the firm for Lewis Silkin LLP.