subject: Not Sure If You Need Media Lawyers Or Defamation Lawyers? [print this page] Firstly it's important to understand the difference between the two areas of law to enable a decision to be made as to which type of lawyer you may require.
What is media law?
Media law is as the name suggests the area of law which pertains to all manner of media communications. Generally a team of media lawyers will be involved in disputes within telecommunications, print media and digital communications and the Internet. Due to the rate at which technology evolves the frontier of media law is constantly open to change.
What is defamation law?
Defamation law is the area which is focussed on the protection of reputation. Defamation lawyers represent individuals or companies whose reputations have been wrongfully attacked. A defamation lawyer will be involved in taking legal action against those responsible for the attack.
Once you understand the difference you should then apply your circumstances to above definitions to determine what type of legal representation you need. Often circumstances aren't as clear cut as the above definitions, so this is where sourcing a specialist law firm is required. They should very quickly be able to determine and advise what area of law and what specialist lawyer is required to support you.
Who to choose?
When you are looking for a set of specialist media lawyers then it can be difficult to know who to trust and who will offer you the most tailored and knowledgeable help, representation and advice. Often media and defamation law is something that most people are unaware of and is often only something you become aware of if the need arises to hire a lawyer.
Not all lawyers will offer this service as it is considered a specialist area of law that is constantly changing in line with technology, media and forms of defamation in the digital world. High profile cases have been recently reported against social media sites such as face book and Twitter were cases of defamation have been successfully prosecuted.
Entertainment and media lawyers/barristers often specialise further into particular types of this area of law, i.e. from privacy to intellectual property. It's important to source the right professional who is qualified to support you and to act on your behalf.
If you require representation from a media or defamation lawyers then it's also important to establish if your case requires specialist knowledge around international law. In many cases, the law is different for each country that the law is applied within. Having expert representation that understands the differences and can then be used advantageously. Understanding the theory of law is vital but equally as important is the ability to apply that law in support of the client. When sourcing media lawyers and defamation lawyers check that the firm have practiced within the European Court of Human rights, the European Court of Justice and also libel and employment tribunals. Additionally some cases will require expertise with regards to the Press Complaints Commission, OFCOM and so on. A sensible final check to make is to ensure lawyers/barristers acting on your behalf have suitable worldwide professional liability insurance.
