Claire is a partner in the firm. She is a leading specialist in defamation, privacy, data protection and protection from harassment. She also undertakes complex commercial litigation, including claims for professional negligence and financial mis-selling. Claire specialises in sensitive disputes for clients who are in the media spotlight.

Reputation, Media and Privacy

Claire is recognised as a leader in this field. Her clients include politicians, celebrities, international business people, global corporations, professionals and academics.

She has very wide experience in media litigation, including defamation and infringement of privacy, and reputation management. She works with her clients whose rights have been infringed to secure vindication, through the removal of online content, the publication of retractions and apologies and the payment of damages.

Claire gives urgent trouble-shooting advice before publication or broadcast. Often working alongside PR advisers, she helps companies and high-profile individuals to deal with unwanted media scrutiny, with a view to preventing publication of material that would infringe their rights to reputation, confidentiality and privacy.

Claire is an expert in the rights of individuals under Data Protection legislation including the Right to Erasure/Right to be Forgotten under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). She works for her clients to secure the removal or amendment of unlawful or inaccurate material published online or elsewhere, including in due diligence reports and “KYC” databases including World-Check and Lexis Nexis World Compliance.

Regulatory and Parliamentary Investigations

Claire advises clients who are the subject of regulatory investigations by professional regulators, including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

She has advised on cases relating to investigations by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and on matters relating to the conduct of Members of Parliament.

Commercial Disputes

Claire has acted for individuals and businesses in banking disputes, including pursuing claims against banks for mis-selling derivative products, and in relation to complaints about the closure of bank accounts.

In a major commercial dispute she acted for a company in liquidation in a claim for professional negligence against the company’s former solicitors, which resulted in a payment in damages of £10 million.

She has advised parties in anti-suit proceedings and proceedings for contempt.

Claire is an honorary law Fellow at the Royal Docks School of Business and Law at the University of East London and is a member of its advisory board.

Claire is consistently cited in the key legal directories as an expert in her field and highly praised by her clients

  • Chambers 2024  praise Claire as ‘extremely thorough and on top of the papers and as having a good manner with clients.‘ They also note that she ‘acts in significant cases involving defamation and misuse of private information and is especially proficient in litigation involving the right to erasure under the GDPR’
  • Legal 500 2024 highlight Claire as a Key Recommended Lawyer in the Reputation Management & Defamation team
  • Legal 500 2023 sources report ‘Claire has considerable expertise with GDPR and the Right to be Forgotten’
  • Chambers 2022 report ‘She is sharp, knowledgeable, has seen it all before and is client service and solution focused and is noted for acting on significant cases involving defamation and misuse of private information’
  • 2023 Spear’s Reputation Management Index – Claire is highlighted as a ‘Top Recommended’ Reputation Management & Privacy Lawyer
  • Chambers HNW 2022 report ‘Claire regularly handles challenging disputes – achieving balance should always be a given. However, Claire takes this skill to a different level in being able to evaluate very complex and conflicting considerations.’ Chambers HNW Commentators also report that ‘it is not a coincidence that Claire’s clients often stay with her for many years’
  • Legal 500 2021 reports Claire provides ‘exceptional client service, being very responsive and attentive and solution focused’
  • Chambers 2021 report Claire has ‘great judgement and insight,  is very calm and someone who you want in a crisis’
  • Legal 500 2020 rank Claire as a Leading Lawyer
  • Chambers’ Guide to the legal profession lists Claire as a leading individual and says she is ‘extremely pleasant to work with, stays calm in a storm and is sensitive to the matters at hand’
  • Chambers 2020 says Claire is ‘absolutely excellent’
  • Claire is featured in the Spears Wealth 500 Directory
  • Chambers & Partners 2019 says sources label Claire ‘a technically brilliant lawyer” adding that “Claire offers clients significant litigation experience, with particular experience on defamation and misuse of information cases’
  • Spear’s Wealth Reputation Lawyers List 2020 and highlighted as ‘Distinguished Individual’
  • Chambers & Partners 2018 said ‘Claire is ferocious in protecting the client and understands the issues’

Claire led the groundbreaking litigation against Google which implemented the so-called ‘Right to be Forgotten’ in England and Wales.

  • The court ordered Google to delist results about a man’s past conviction from searches against his name, upholding his claim for breach of data protection rights and misuse of private information. The case addressed what the judge called ‘novel questions which have never yet been considered in this court.’ For this, Claire was named ‘Lawyer of the Week’ in The Times
  • Claire continues to act for numerous clients seeking to invoke the Right to be Forgotten to secure the removal of outdated or inaccurate content online
  • She has represented many foreign nationals and corporations and advises on jurisdictional disputes
  • Claire has acted in numerous claims against various national newspapers and broadcasters, including the publishers of The Daily Mail, The Times and the BBC, and also acts in cases against individuals and organisations including public bodies
  • In addition to her work for claimants, Claire also advises individuals and organisations on the receiving end of a libel complaint
  • Claire has worked on a wide variety of highly sensitive cases, often with a geopolitical element in an international context, including for political figures and Ultra High Net Worth individuals
  • Claire acted for many years for the late Russian businessman and politician Boris Berezovsky including successfully resisting his extradition to Russia and opposing other measures taken against him by the Russian government
  • Claire represented Dr Malcolm Kendrick and Dr Zoë Harcombe PhD in libel cases against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday. After the court dismissed the paper’s public interest defence, the case settled with the paper publishing a full apology and paying very significant damages and costs. Link to judgment here. Link to press release here.

Cases

  • Berezovsky v Fridman, in which a jury awarded Mr Berezovsky £50,000 in damages. Read the Press Release here
  • Berezovsky v Terluk in which Mr Berezovsky was awarded £150,000 in libel damages relating to the allegation that he murdered his friend Alexander Litvinenko. Read the Press Release here
  • Represented Dr Malcolm Kendrick and Dr Zoë Harcombe PhD in libel cases against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday. After the court dismissed the paper’s public interest defence, the case settled with the paper publishing a full apology and paying very significant damages and costs. Read the full judgment here. Read the Press Release here.
  • Acted for the founder of the Indian Premier League Lalit Modi in his libel claim against the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).  Read the Press Release here
  • Represented Impresa Publishing SA, a leading Portuguese publisher defending a libel claim brought by a Portuguese-Angolan national whose claim was struck out as an abuse of process
  • Acted for Mike Ashley in his libel claim against Times Newspapers Limited, which led to the withdrawal of defamatory allegations about him and a public apology. Read the Press Release here
  • Acted for Al Jazeera Media Network in its defence of a libel claim brought against it by Rebel News in Ontario, Canada. Rebel’s claim was dismissed under anti-SLAPP legislation in Ontario (a decision upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada).  Read the Reasons for Decision here and Court of Appeal Ruling here