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Brett Wilson Media and Communications Law Blog

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20.10.23

Where are we now with serious harm? Understanding section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013

Defamation lawyers had hoped that the Supreme Court’s judgment in Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd & Anor [2019] UKSC 27 (see our blog here) would provide some much-needed clarity on how section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 should be interpreted.  Prior to Lachaux preliminary issue trials had become something of a bête noire for…

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19.10.23

Brett Wilson LLP and its lawyers recommended in Chambers and Partners 2024 directory

Brett Wilson LLP’s media and communications law and criminal defence departments have again been recommended by the prestigious Chambers and Partners directory as leading departments in their field. In the firm’s media and communications law department, partners Iain Wilson, Max Campbell and Tom Double continue to be ranked as leading lawyers in Defamation/Reputation Management. Partner…

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10.10.23

Court grants injunction to prevent details of affair being disclosed in blackmail case

In JRV & ARC v BRG [2023] EWHC 2238 (KB) Mr Justice Ritchie granted an interim privacy injunction preventing the publication of information about an extra-marital affair. The judgment, handed down on 8 September 2023, is a concise but comprehensive judgment traversing the core principles of privacy injunctions. Facts In January 2022 the anonymised First…

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5.10.23

Brett Wilson LLP’s departments and lawyers recognised in 2024 edition of Legal 500

Brett Wilson LLP has again been recommended in three categories in the prestigious Legal 500 directory of leading law firms:- Reputation Management Professional Discipline Crime The firm is noted for its ‘strong track record’, ‘handling defamation, privacy and data protection matters for a varied client roster, including politicians, celebrities and corporates’ and for being ‘a “go…

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19.09.23

Instagram privacy claim succeeds against unknown parties, but fails against named defendants

In this article we consider the decision of Mrs Justice Collins Rice in LCG and others v OVD and others [2023] EWHC 2058 (KB).  The first and second claimants succeeded in establishing a claim for misuse of private information against persons unknown, but the judge was unable to attribute any of the alleged tortious conduct…

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6.09.23

I have been accused of a crime: will it be made public?

If you have been accused of a crime, whether this information will become public is likely to depend on whether you have been charged or not. Pre-charge: police investigation The recent case of Bloomberg LP v ZXC [2022] UKSC 5 makes it clear that generally there is an expectation that during the police investigation, someone…

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21.07.23

Court of Appeal overturns decision of High Court judge to refuse to accept undertakings in harassment claim

We previously published a press release on behalf of our client Dr Erica Smith following the outcome of her harassment and privacy claim against former colleague and UCL academic Dr Christopher Backhouse.  The claim concerned a sustained campaign of online harassment, which included the creation of Twitter accounts impersonating Dr Smith and offering sexual services…

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14.07.23

Could The Sun be facing the “mother of all privacy claims”?

On 11 July 2023, on the News Agents podcast, broadcaster Jon Sopel asked whether The Sun could be facing “the mother of all libel claims” for publishing allegations against a then unnamed BBC presenter.  On 13 July 2023, Vicky Flind confirmed that her husband Huw Edwards was the broadcaster in question.  It might be too…

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26.06.23

Retired ophthalmologist awarded £30,000 libel damages for Facebook slur

In December 2022 Dr Than Wai, a retired ophthalmologist, originally from Myanmar, issued libel proceedings against Dr Htay Kywe, a retired General Practitioner, also originally from Myanmar, in respect of allegations made by Dr Kywe on the ‘Moe Joe News’ Facebook page. The words sued upon (that Dr Wai was, in essence, a “stoolie”) were…

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23.06.23

The right to representation, ethics, reputation and regulation

Iain Wilson joins Law Society Gazette roundtable with Law Society President Lubna Shuja and others to discuss the right to representation, ethics, reputation and regulation.  Click here to read the article in the Law Society Gazette.

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Legal Disclaimer

Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.