Why instruct David?
Defamation -Libel and Slander
David Magill is a recognised authority in the area of defamation (which includes libel and slander).
He has an enviable record of success in taking decisive action for clients and can provide dedicated advice to individuals and companies whose reputations are at risk and/or have been attacked. He acts for Defendants and Claimants.
If you are an individual or company or organisation and your reputation has been attacked from gossip, rumour, lies or malicious comments, whether online, in print, or spoken, this can have a devastating impact and cause serious harm and distress. Reputations built up over many years can be damaged overnight. Your reputation is a valuable yet fragile asset which must be protected. Any damage must be compensated and your reputation vindicated.
David’s first step will be to acquire a detailed understanding of the background to any attacks/threats, then to assess and advise you as to appropriate strategies to stop any attacks, repair any damage caused and prevent any future attacks. Depending upon the factors in your case and your attitude towards litigation, various strategies can be explored such as demanding that a perpetrator will “cease and desist” their actions, obtaining an injunction, seeking an apology or pursuing a claim for compensation.
If you require any information or assistance whether your reputation has been damaged or is coming under attack, then please feel free to contact David as soon as possible.
There are many solicitors who may be willing to assist you. However, here are good reasons why you should instruct David through Simon Burn Solicitors.
- David is happy (if time permits) to have a no obligation first chat to see if he would be able to help you.
- He will only accept your instruction if he identifies that he can add value to your situation and provide you with genuine assistance.
- As a solicitor with lengthy expertise, he can make an early assessment of your case quickly and efficiently when you enquire .
- David is an expert in pursuing defamation (both libel and slander) and misuse of private information claims and has a superior track record in these area. He also has significant expertise and track record with insolvency, corporate and commercial matters.
- David assists clients based all over the United Kingdom and overseas.
Defamation-What I can do for you.
What I can do for you?
If your reputation or the reputation of your business has or may come under attack, whether from gossip, rumour, lies, malicious comments then I can assist you. There are many ways that Ican assist you;
- I can assist you in immediately responding to any threats that have been made and seek the removal of malicious comments from the Internet.
- I can demand that the perpetrator does cease and desist, and where required threaten to issue proceedings on your behalf against the perpetrators to stop the damage as soon as possible.
- I can advise you on obtaining orders for third party disclosure, such as a “Norwich Pharmacal” order where the perpetrator has attempted to hide his or her identity when making comments online.
- I can advise you as to the merits of your case and the evidence before you proceed.
- I can assist you if your claim is already issued and you are subject to court applications.
- We can advise you as to how maximise the chances of successfully prosecuting any proceedings against the perpetrator or defending any claims or counterclaims..
- I can bring the case to Court, instructing leading barristers from specialist chambers and manage the procedural aspects of any proceedings on your behalf.
- I can tailor our service to suit your needs and budget. Whether you just want some advice or need to be robustly represented in Court, we can help whether you are the Claimant or Defendant.
Been defamed? What to do.
What you can and should do if defamed -libelled or slandered!
When your reputation, or that of your business, has come under attack there are a number of important matters to help you and allow us to help you with any legal action.
Reply to an Attack
Consider carefully before you reply to any attack on your reputation, written or spoken, libel or slander, rumour or otherwise. Sometimes a swift rebuke of comments is appropriate but other times it can give short lived satisfaction but it may be seen by the courts as you addressing any damage and preventing legal action against the perpetrator. All facts and circumstances vary case by case and if unsure contact us for advice.
Preserving Information
Any information which you feel is relevant should be kept for our review. The more information we have to put together the factual matrix surrounding the events complained of, the more we can help you and assist. You have only up to 12 months to take action in defamation from first publication so swift action well before that deadline and immediately if possible is crucial. The Court will question how swiftly you acted and delay in contacting the perpetrator may hold against you. Gather what evidence you can and come and contact us as soon as possible if you have, or there is a risk of, damage to your reputation.
Information is anything you believe is relevant to any allegations made, including to support your side of the facts or disproving the others. This can also include any correspondence or dealings between you and the perpetrator or others involved. Events will be mainly before publication (spoken or written), and any subsequent events, publications, comments and notes you may have of what has been reported to you by others since publication.
Also keep details of when others have spoken or reported any comments to you. What have you heard, are others talking about you or your company?
Libel- Obtain hard copies of any and all allegations, corrections or purported apologies which may appear in print whether in magazines, newspapers, books. This will assist us to identify how wide the publication has been, when, who by and where it has been published.
Online
Once relevant information has been located, it is important to preserve this information so that it can be used as evidence at a later date. Examples include screen prints and print outs of emails and online publications, extracts from social media and web pages. Clients should seek where possible to have the date and time of publication and print out on any print outs obtained. This greatly assists any action and helps us know what happened when, especially if comments or publications are removed. Clients should make sure that they gather as much information as they can at the time of publication to prevent the perpetrator from deleting their comments etc.
In online defamation it may be that the perpetrator will initially be unknown, as the author of the defamatory publication may have made use of an anonymous email or social media account or created a defamatory webpage under a pseudonym. Clients should preserve what information they can to help us identify the perpetrator whether directly or indirectly.
Slander -Verbal
Usually slander is verbal -one person to others – so it can be difficult at a later date to remember details if third parties have reported a defamatory allegation and the perpetrator to you. It is very useful if you can make your own dated notes of what was said and to who by whom, and when. It is also extremely useful if the others reporting back to you can provide a permanent note/email/statement of who said what to whom, when and where, who was there, what did the person think? Such notes are very helpful to us and as a contemporaneous (from the time of publication) can very helpfully be referred back to in a witness statement at a later date
Damage
Whilst we will do our best to prevent or minimise publications it may be the case they have already been made. In addition to the above, keep details of the impact of any allegations on you, and others close to you. Have the allegations impacted on you, or your business? Have they caused alarm or harm and distress to you? Have customers ceased to call or can you point to a drop in business/call/profit? Have you had any credit lines withdrawn or orders cancelled? Have you lost your job or friends or contacts? These are all serious matters affecting your reputation damage and details will assist us to help you.
Investment time
You are the person who knows most about the events that led to the situation and it is therefore important that you invest time in your claim. Often there are complicating factors at play in any defamation (libel or slander) claim and you will often be asked to examine events weeks or sometimes many months after they took place. It is therefore important to keep notes as to what you are thinking at the time and why events unfolded as they did.
The more time you invest in your claim the better your chance of successfully bringing proceedings.
Take advice
It is important to take advice from properly experienced solicitors who have expertise and experiencing in dealing with defamation proceedings. The ramification of proceedings can be serious and far reaching. There are various steps that can be taken in order to maximise your chances of success but ultimately proper advice is essential.
We will be very pleased to assist you.
Defamation and Privacy Actions-What will it cost?
People who have been subject to defamation, libel or slander, or have had their privacy breached are often concerned or even put off from taking action due to worries about the legal cost. This can be a very real concern.
To help manage your concerns and ensure transparency in your working relationship with us, the approach I take to first engagement and to costs is set out below.
- If you do not have the means to pay for my services then I will consider whether or not I can act on your behalf on a no-win no-fee basis. It is not always possible as the case must meet certain criteria -strong case and a defendant with the means to pay any legal costs agreement including that you have a strong case and that or Court order.
- The actual costs that will be incurred with us depend on what we are asked to do. However as well as hourly rates, we are able to offer fixed fee services for letters to potential defendant to tell them to stop what they are doing against you or attempt to settle a potential claim before proceedings are issued. By way of a guide only(and dependent on sight of details of your case) we would usually provide cease & desist and take down letters (£500 plus VAT at 20% per letter ) and letters before claim (£1000-2000 plus VAT at 20% per letter). If there are multiple potential defendants then we can discuss a reduced rate for multiple letters.
- If a fixed fee is not possible, or if your matter progresses past the pre-action stage to issuing legal proceedings, I will seek to provide estimates and to agree a budget with you in advance before any work is undertaken. I will always look to make sure to ensure you are aware of costs at all times.
- Costs are normally charged on a time basis. However, I have extensive experience and expertise (which means I can work quickly and efficiently) and as I am based outside of London with reduced overheads, I can pass the savings onto you in my hourly rates charged.
If you require any information or assistance please contact us as soon as possible. We are happy to have a no obligation conversation to see if we can help you.