Schillings

Schillings (originally Schilling & Lom) is a British reputation and privacy consultancy staffed by legal, reputation, privacy, risk consulting, communications and intelligence specialists. The company is an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) and is regulated and authorised by the UK's Solicitors Regulation Authority. It provides legal services in areas including technology, media and finance.

History

Schillings was founded in 1984 by Keith Schilling and Nicholas Lom and focused largely on media law, libel and privacy protection. It was called by Index on Censorship "the scourge of many a Fleet Street editor" for obtaining anonymised gagging orders to protect celebrity clients' privacy. In the early 2010s, the firm began to move away from pure media and libel work towards reputation protection for a large corporate, non-celebrity clientele.

In 2012, Schillings acquired the information security firm Vigilante Bespoke. In March 2013 the firm was granted two Alternative Business Structure licenses, one for the Schillings partnership and one for Schillings Corporate Limited which owns Vigilante Bespoke.

The company restructured its organisation in September 2013 and is now an integrated legal, risk management, IT security and investigation business. In 2023, the firm launched Schillings Communications. Schillings have offices in London, Miami, and Dublin.

Notable cases

In 2004, Schillings represented Lance Armstrong when confronted with doping allegations in the book '' L. A. Confidentiel'', by David Walsh and Pierre Ballester. Schillings was told to tell "every UK paper and broadcaster" to not re-state what was in the book. Gideon Benaim and Matthew Himsworth worked for Schillings on Armstrong's libel actions, including a 2004 defamation suit against ''The Sunday Times'' for referencing information in the book.

In 2004, Schillings represented Naomi Campbell in '' Campbell v MGN Ltd''. Campbell was photographed leaving a rehabilitation clinic after public denials that she was a recovering drug addict. Campbell challenged the disclosure of information about the location of her Narcotics Anonymous meetings and the pictures that were used by the ''Daily Mirror''. In March 2002, Campbell was awarded damages of £3500, but the case was overturned by the Court of Appeal six months later. The case was heard on appeal in the House of Lords and won in Campbell's favour through a 3:2 majority.

In May 2008, Keith Schilling won a privacy case in the Court of Appeal for the son of Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling. The case "says children of famous parents have the same right to expect privacy as children of parents who aren't well-known", granting them protection from intrusive photography.

In April and May 2011, Schillings acted for Ryan Giggs in '' CTB v News Group Newspapers'' and obtained a " super-injunction" aimed at preventing the publication by ''The Sun'' of the details of an alleged extra-marital relationship between Giggs and Imogen Thomas. The case gained widespread media coverage and political discussion in the UK.

In October 2012, Schillings' family division acted for the respondent's husband in the reported case BP v KP and NI. The case included not only companies by which one of the spouses was employed but also former colleagues and associates with whom a spouse was professionally acquainted.

In January 2013, Schillings acted for Ned RocknRoll, husband to Kate Winslet. RocknRoll obtained an order preventing the ''Sun'' newspaper from publishing private images of RocknRoll taken from a Facebook page.

In May 2013, Schillings partner Davina Katz acted for Dale Vince who won his appeal against his ex-wife's claim for maintenance. This was viewed as a landmark judgment that set a precedent for future financial claims that may be made many years after a relationship has ended.

In July 2013, Schillings acted for the author J. K. Rowling who brought proceedings in London's High Court against a lawyer who revealed that she had been writing under a pseudonym. This was leaked to the press and featured as a front-page story in ''The Sunday Times''. Rowling won her case for breach of confidence; the lawyer's firm issued an apology and agreed to pay her legal costs in addition to making a "substantial" donation to The Soldier's Charity by way of damages.

In 2018, Schillings worked to stop the distribution of the book, ''Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World'' by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope of ''The Wall Street Journal'' in the United Kingdom. The tactics used to disrupt distribution to British booksellers included threatening letters and legal missives. Some book vendors were warned about putting the book into the "true crime" section of bookstores. The campaign against the publication of the book was unsuccessful and bookstores began selling copies on 12 September 2019.

In 2015, Schillings began working for Wirecard, a German financial services company, in its response to media reporting around its operations. This later became known as the Wirecard scandal and subsequently led to its insolvency in June 2020. It stopped working with Wirecard in July 2019.

In 2019, Schillings helped Philip Green in hi
ultimately unsuccessful
attempt to have his name kept from appearing in ''The Daily Telegraph'' for his use of non-disclosure agreements. Justice Mark Warby, presiding in this case, note

that there had been "an unnecessary degree of partner involvement, and a degree of overmanning that cannot be justified."

In 2019, Schillings represented Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in a High Court claim against ''The Mail on Sunday'' over alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018. A ''Mail on Sunday'' spokesman said the paper stood by the story and would defend the case "vigorously". In February 2021, the Duchess won her case on summary judgment, with the court finding that Associated Newspapers Limited had interfered with the Duchess' reasonable expectation of privacy by publishing the letter. In May 2021, the Duchess won the remainder of her claim for copyright infringement. Associated Newspapers Limited brought an appeal against the decision, calling for a trial, but this was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

Schillings represented Malaysian fugitive Jho Low, who was accused by US prosecutors of a money-laundering scheme connected to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.

Schillings represented Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a long-time Vladimir Putin ally until he was placed under sanctions by the European Union due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Partners

* Keith Schilling was listed as 10th in ''The Times'' 100 Most Powerful Lawyers list 2008 and named in the ''Evening Standard''s 2008 Survey of the 1000 most influential people in London. In 2013, Schilling was awarded the 'Super Lawyer' leading lawyer accolade.
* Rod Christie Miller, who is the chairman of Schillings.
* Rachel Atkins, who acted for Jimmy Nail and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in his libel case against Michael O'Leary.
* Jenny Afia, who was also promoted to partner on 1 January 2012, was named Young Solicitor of the Year at the British Legal Awards in 2008.
* Tim Robinson, a former major general in the British Army.

Former partners

* Simon Smith, who has worked with Keira Knightley, Pam Brighton, Caprice, the Government of Saudi Arabia, Tiger Woods, Rolf Harris and Cristiano Ronaldo.
* Davina Katz (née Hay), who led the firm's family division and left to set up Katz Partners LLP.
* Chris Scott left Schillings and founded reputation management firm Slateford.
* John Kelly left Schillings to join Harbottle & Lewis in May 2013.
* Gideon Benaim left Schillings to join Simkins in September 2012.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Schillings website

Law firms based in London
Law firms established in 1984
1984 establishments in the United Kingdom