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William Bennett
Profile
William is a leading specialist in actions concerning defamation, breach of confidence and the misuse of private information.
Recent cases of note include: acting as Jan Cambridge's sole counsel in the trial of her libel claim and securing a damages award of £30,000 (having proven that the Defendant had acted with malice); acting as Gary Flood's junior at trial and on appeal in defeating a Reynolds defence mounted by The Times; acting as sole counsel for the Motown tribute band the Gillettes in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in regard to a fair comment defence; and acting as Frank Warren’s junior in his successful claim against Random House which settled in his favour following a string of victories at first instance and in the Court of Appeal.
In defamation he has been involved in many leading cases, often in the Court of Appeal, on Reynolds privilege (Flood v Times), fair comment (Spiller v Joseph), 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, Warren v Random House), qualified privilege (Wood v West Midlands Police) jurisdiction (Harrods v. Dow Jones, Lennon v Daily Record) and damages (Purnell v Business F1).
William particularly enjoys appearing before juries, building on the experience gained at the beginning of his career in criminal practice. Most notably, he secured a jury damages award of £75,000 for his client in Purnell v. Business F1 Magazine, which exceeded the trial judge's recommended ceiling of £60,000, which decision was then upheld by the Court of Appeal.
In 2010 he was asked to give a presentation to the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee on the current state of English defamation law. He also gave a presentation at the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies on jurisdiction in defamation claims. The Solicitors Journal has published his articles on defamation law reform: Think Again and The Jury's Out.
He is a CEDR accredited mediator and has a good knowledge of CFA costs issues.
Whilst William’s clients include the usual staple of tabloid newspapers and celebrities he is also known for representing the less wealthy, whether claimant or defendant. He recently acted for the Haringey social worker, Sylvia Henry, in securing favourable settlements against Haringey Council and a number of newspapers in regard to allegations concerning her involvement in the Baby P case. He also acted for Parameswaran Subramanyam, the Tamil hunger striker wrongly accused by The Sun and the Daily Mail of eating Big Macs during his hunger strike.
Career
Called
1994 Called to the Bar
Education
Bancroft's School
The University of Liverpool, BA History (incl.sabbatical year as President of the Students' Union)
Common Professional Examination (College of Law)
Bar Vocational Course (Inns of Court School of Law)
Areas of work
- Defamation
- Privacy and Confidence
- Data Protection
- Reporting the Courts
- Mediation
- Contempt
- Injunctive Relief
- Malicious Falsehood
- Professional Negligence
Verbatim
Demonstrates real strength in all he does. He is self-reliant, fearless and an amazing one-man band when he needs to be.
A strongly analytical barrister who is very good with clients. He is known for his efficient, results-oriented approach.
A confident advocate.
Capable of running things without hand-holding.
Chambers & Partners 2008 - 2010
William’s approach to the claim was 1st class throughout. He was cheerful, unpretentious, readily available when called upon and able to respond to the actions of an unpredictable opposition. At trial his strategy and straight-forward manner ensured that the client’s case was perfectly presented. I am continuing to instruct William and hope that we can remain a successful team.
Dominic Crossley – Partner, Collyer Bristow
Testimonials
Consistently recommended as a leading defamation junior in both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500.
Publications
(17 Oct 2002)