5RB

William originally practised in criminal law before moving into defamation in 1996, since when he has specialised in defamation, breach of confidence/privacy and other freedom of speech-related areas. In defamation, he has appeared in leading cases on withdrawing issues from juries (Alexander v Arts Council of Wales), interim injunctions (Holley v Smyth), offers of amends (Milne v Express Newspapers, Diana Rigg v Associated Newspapers, Jimmy Nail v News Group), qualified privilege (Wood v West Midlands Police), jurisdiction (Harrods v Dow Jones, Lennon v Daily Record) and damages (Purnell v Rubython). William particularly enjoys appearing before juries, building on the experience gained at the beginning of his career in criminal practice. He is a CEDR-accredited mediator.

Called 1994, Inner Temple; previous specialisation in criminal law; articles published by Tolley’s Communications Law on limitation and the summary disposal procedure.

Bancroft’s School; Liverpool University.

Cycling.