Top Ten Reputation Lawyers

Dominic Crossley, a partner in Payne Hicks Beach’s litigation department, has seen a rise in inter-family disputes arriving at his desk, as well as a range of ‘stressful circumstances’ that concern UHNWs. ‘You’ve got very short time pressure,’ he tells Spear’s, which often requires a complex judgement call.

‘It’s about getting in there early, getting to the source of the information and stopping it there, persuading them that it’s unlawful, it’s not the right thing to do, or that there are other ways to deal with their grievance.’ What’s legally possible isn’t always practical in reality, though: ‘If you’re getting embroiled in very heavy litigation, there are all sorts of reasons why [an injunction] might not be the best way ahead, in the long term.’ He says Google’s responses to requests have been ‘very unpredictable’ recently. ‘But they have established a process – and they do respond,’ he says. ‘If Google refuses to take information down that should be taken down, you can take it forward with the ICO on a confidential basis and challenge that.’ Crossley’s team have won a libel case for an MP and obtained ‘one of the most significant phone hacking settlements’ in 2019. No wonder one client calls them ‘terrific litigators and tacticians’.