Doughty Street Chambers

Doughty Street Chambers

Region Area

Barristers

Claire Overman

Claire Overman

Work Department

Media, Defamation and Freedom of Expression Data Protection and Information Law

Position

Claire specialises in all aspects of media and information law, including defamation, privacy, data protection and harassment.

She is ranked as a defamation and privacy junior in both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500. She accepts instructions on behalf of claimants and defendants.

Career

Year of Call: 2014

Claire has represented clients in the County Court, the High Court, and the Supreme Court. She has also acted in ECtHR and international media cases. Recent clients include: a Premiership football club, several award-winning investigative journalists and journalistic organisations, and a FTSE 100 company.

In addition, Claire has significant experience of providing pre-publication legal and Ofcom advice to publishing houses and a range of national media organisations. She has advised The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, the BBC and Channel 5.

In 2018, Claire was awarded a Pegasus Scholarship to participate in the Paris Bar Exchange. She spent one month attending a variety of court and arbitration hearings, and sat with the media and information team at leading French law firm, Herald.

Before commencing pupillage, Claire was editor and communications manager of the Oxford Human Rights Hub. In 2014, she co-edited the Hub’s inaugural published anthology, “Global Perspectives on Human Rights” and its annual report.

Languages

French

Education

BA (Law with Law in Europe) (First Class Honours), University of Oxford (Keble College)

BCL, University of Oxford (Keble College)

Residential Scholar, Gray’s Inn

Bacon Scholar, Gray’s Inn, 2013-2014

Certificat Supérieur de Droit Français et Européen, Université Panthéon Assas (Paris II)

Mentions

London Bar

Data protection

Leading junior3
Claire Overman – Doughty Street Chambers ‘Claire is one of the best juniors in this field; she is very bright, reliable and has excellent judgement and an unflappable temperament.’
London Bar

Defamation and privacy

Leading junior2
Claire Overman –Doughty Street Chambers ‘Claire has an impressively broad practice with particular expertise in defamation and privacy issues. She provides pragmatic, concise and dependable advice.’