Pre-publication and Post-publication

If your reputation has been damaged by false statements or your brand is at risk of being harmed by a threatened publication, our Media and Reputation Management team is on hand to support you. Your reputation will be vital to your business’s success or standing in your community.

A reputation and goodwill can take many years to build, and even more time to rebuild if damaged. We understand that you require a fast response and advice on the options available to you in what may be a complex and rapidly unfolding situation.

To speak to a member of JMW’s Media and Reputation Management team about any pre-publication or post-publication matters, contact our solicitors today by calling 0345 872 6666, or fill in our online enquiry form to request a call back.

How Can JMW Help Your Business?

Our team is experienced in providing legal advice in what can often be a rapidly developing situation, and our team works collaboratively with clients to consider the legal options and commercial risks.

Our Services

At JMW, our Media and Reputation Management team can assist you in the following scenarios:

Pre-publication

You may receive an ‘out of the blue’ telephone call or email from an investigative journalist inviting you to comment upon a planned publication. You may not know how to deal with that, and now find yourself at the centre of a news story. This may cause concern that the publication may negatively impact your business or reputation, or it may involve the threatened publication of sensitive private or confidential information that risks devastating your family. Preventing the publication or engaging with the media outlet before publication may lessen or avoid entirely any damage, and the need for you to take further legal action following publication.

Pre-publication enquiries often require legal advice within very short time frames, and you may have only been provided with limited information about the intended publication. At JMW, our experience in crisis management makes us well placed to engage quickly and constructively.

We can help you with:

• Engaging with the media outlet by helping you respond to the questions raised
• Putting the media outlet on notice of your potential claims if the publication proceeds
• Seeking injunctive relief to prevent publication

Post-publication

If information has been published about your business or you personally that is false and has damaged your reputation, we can advise you on the legal pathways available to restore your reputation. You may seek an apology and a retraction, and compensation from the publisher. You may also wish to engage with the platform host or consider ways to reduce the prominence of an article available online.

You may also have a claim where your intimate and private information has been published online, which results in you becoming the subject of sensationalist journalism in circumstances where that publication has caused you distress and upset.

It is not just the mainstream media that publish incorrect or invasive information online. The increased use and accessibility of social media have resulted in many complaints arising from publications by users of those platforms, for instance, a tweet or posting within a forum. We can help you engage with the responsible user, or the platform, to seek the removal of the offending material.

In the event that the responsible user is an anonymous account or ‘troll’, we can advise you on the options to ‘unmask’ the individuals behind the accounts.

The media are subject to codes of conduct and, if necessary, we can liaise with the relevant regulatory bodies on your behalf.

In summary, we can help you with:

• Defamation or malicious falsehood claims
• Claims for misuse of your private and confidential information or infringement of data protection rights
• ‘Take down’ requests to a platform host or website
• Explore your ‘right to be forgotten' to a search engine provider
• Making a formal complaint to media regulators such as Ofcom or Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), or the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
• Identifying anonymous trolls, and taking further legal action to protect your reputation
• Working with SEO experts to minimise reputational damage, and coordinating with your PR teams