With a wealth of experience in all aspects of media and information law, both domestically and internationally, Doughty Street is uniquely placed in the market. Its members are equally comfortable handling complex disputes of fact as well as arguing novel points of law, having acted in many of the recent media law cases before the Supreme Court, including Cape Intermediate Holdings v Dring (open justice/access to documents), Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd (the first case on ‘serious harm’ under s1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013), Serafin v Malkiewicz (the first case on the public interest defence under s4 of that Act) and Stocker v Stocker (adapting established defamation principles to communication on social media), in boundary-testing litigation before the Court of Justice of the European Union (Google v CNIL), and in pioneering open justice cases at every level.  Doughty Street is also the home of the market-leading ‘international media defence panel’, which was awarded ‘international team of the year’ at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2020.

Doughty Street is ranked as a leading set in defamation and privacy in both Chambers and Partners 2022 and The Legal 500 2022. Members are expert in arguing all aspects of media and information law, including defamation and malicious falsehood, privacy, data protection, access to court documents, freedom of information, harassment and contempt of court. Clients include: national and international print, broadcast, and social media organisations; publishing houses; investigative journalists; blue-chip companies and high net-worth individuals; not-for-profit organisations; and individuals and others in need of assistance to promote or defend their rights.

Doughty Street offers a one-stop shop for clients whose cases straddle media and other areas of law. Its members have expertise in areas that commonly overlap with media law, such as employment, crime, protest and police law, and public law. In addition, Doughty Street has unparalleled expertise in international media and human rights law. Its members are uniquely well-placed to advise on broader human rights and free speech issues. Members write and contribute to leading publications in the field of media and information law: examples include Duncan and Neill on Defamation, Robertson and Nicol on Media Law, and Arlidge, Eady and Smith on Contempt.

Members offer the full spectrum of legal services to clients. They have expertise in providing pre-publication legal and regulatory advice to broadcasters and publishers, as well as a wealth of litigation experience before a range of courts and tribunals. Doughty Street’s experienced and efficient clerking team has a deep understanding of the needs of media litigants: members can be instructed on an urgent basis and on a direct access basis where appropriate and necessary.

What the directories say

Chambers and Partners 2023 - Band 3

Described as "a brilliant chambers who can tackle complex and sophisticated matters."

"Melvin Warner, practice manager, in particular is very responsive and helpful."

Legal 500 2023 - Tier 3

"Doughty Street are beginning to develop a reputation as a ‘player’ in the media litigation field and are also developing their civil practice generally."

"Doughty Street has a first rate team. It has increasing strength in depth."

Open Justice During Lockdown: New Blog Series

The Coronavirus pandemic poses unprecedented challenges for courts in the UK and across the globe. Unfamiliar technology is being rolled out at speed, of necessity, to prevent justice systems grinding to a halt during lockdown. In many countries, journalists are no longer able to attend court hearings in person, or there are strict limits to the numbers of journalists and members of the public who can do so. Virtual attendance at hearings is working smoothly in some quarters, non-existent in others, and often somewhere in between, with reports of journalists being bumped off Skype connections and audio stopping part-way through a hearing.

Doughty Street Chambers’ media law team has a long and proud history of acting in pioneering open justice cases at every level. We consider it imperative that the vital open justice principle does not get sidelined or undermined by the sudden changes to our justice system required given this public health emergency. As journalist Catherine Baksi has put it, “when the doors of the court are closed, open justice and scrutiny by the press become even more important.” Today we are launching a blog series focused on open justice during the lockdown. Over the coming weeks we will examine how the open justice principle is faring in courts across the UK, and our members with expertise in other jurisdictions will provide comparative analysis. We hope this blog series will provide a platform to highlight concerns and to share examples of best practice.

To read the latest articles in this series, click here.

Podcasts

Heather Rogers KC and Jonathan Price deliver a podcast "Seven Points About Serafin" to tell you what you need to know about the latest decision from the Supreme Court on defamation (Serafin v Malkiewicz and others [2020] UKSC 23, [2020] 1 WLR 2455).

Heather and Jonathan represented the MLA on the appeal. Listen to the full episode below. (running time: 17 minutes).

A transcript of the podcast, with added references, is available here.

Get Legally Speaking Podcast: Negative Online Reviews, How To Deal With Them.

Season 4, Ep. 11 | Hatti Suvari in conversation with Claire Overman.

With a staggering 84% of people trusting online reviews, negative online reviews can make or break a business's reputation. So how do you deal with negative reviews about your business that can be very damaging? What initial steps can you take to try and resolve a negative opinion of your company, service, product or business, with the person who has given the review? What should you NOT do when you receive a negative review? How can our laws assist you, and what are the key points that a Court would take into consideration if you are thinking of taking legal action?

Hear these questions answered and more in the latest episode available here.