Reputation Managers 2018

One of Matrix’s prime barristers, Lorna Skinner was close to choosing a career in criminal law but favoured the world of media instead. ‘I’m very glad I did! It’s an area that is constantly evolving to keep pace with time,’ she says. Skinner, who has represented both defendants and claimants from publishers, parliament and trade unions, says it is thrilling to solve the spectrum of cases she receives, from ‘unsurprising’ allegations of affairs and non-compliance to blackmail and the misuse of private data. What’s most satisfying is tackling ‘thorny’ legal issues, where she has ‘the time and space to sit down and become, for a few moments, a world expert on a very small topic’. Skinner believes there will be a boost in libel claims following the Court of Appeal decision in Lachaux v Independent Print and others, where a common law ruling defied parliament’s protection of free speech in the 2013 Defamation Act. The judgment showed that the ‘serious harm’ threshold is lower than expected. ‘Claimants have breathed a sigh of relief and a lot more defendants are rather more concerned,’ she observes. While libel is likely to thrive post-GDPR, the opposite has been observed with privacy injunctions, which have seen a noticeable decline. ‘It’s slightly surprising,’ she exclaims, considering the Supreme Court’s decision to keep the anonymity of the individuals in the landmark PJS case.

Sara Mansoori has a clear enthusiasm for the job: ‘It’s the immediacy of the results for your clients and the importance of the remedy that you can fix for them…You can save someone’s reputation in one hearing at an application,’ she says. Since being called to the bar in 1997, Mansoori has acted for a wide range of clients, including law firms, media publications and local authorities. She successfully acted for three Labour MPs in Sir Kevin Barron MP & Others v Jane Collins MEP – an important case about the assessment of libel damages following an offer to make amends – and also acted for the core participant victims in the Leveson Inquiry. ‘There wasn’t a law of privacy when I started out,’ she says. ‘It’s astounding to think the law of privacy has developed during my career at the bar and is now the preferred course for a lot of clients.’ Recently she’s been acting for ZXC in ZXC v Bloomberg, a matter pertaining to the rights of criminal suspects in relation to the expectation of privacy. The case is due for trial in 2018. Mansoori is also keenly aware of the way in which this area of the law is changing. ‘Yesterday’s news used to be tomorrow’s chip paper,’ she says, ‘but that’s not the case any more. There’s a permanent footprint in search engines.’ This only makes Mansoori’s work more important.

Called to the bar in 1975 and taking silk in 1994, Andrew Caldecott QC has represented clients in some of the most high-profile defamation law and privacy cases of recent decades. He has been instructed by a wide range of broadcasters, publishing houses, corporations, UK and foreign governments, as well as by celebrities and government ministers. Select highlights include representing the Guardian during the Leveson Inquiry and bringing about Naomi Campbell’s landmark privacy ruling in the House of Lords. Caldecott has acted in countless breach of confidence and data protection cases – including representing Google – as well as on matters relating to reporting restrictions, contempt of court and obscenity. He is particularly noted for his reputation in Supreme Court cases. Caldecott has been a tenant of One Brick Court, a media and information chambers, since 1976. But his skills are not limited to the law, as he is also a successfully published playwright and more recently, novelist – Rotherweird, published in May 2017, is the first of a fantasy trilogy. ‘Intricate and crisp, witty and solemn: a book with special and dangerous properties,’ noted Man Booker prizewinner Hilary Mantel.