Legal 500 - 2011 edition
Within Defamation and privacy, Schillings is a first tier firm.
A ‘firm of choice for celebrities’, Schillings is renowned for its strong reputation management practice, fielding a ‘high-quality team’ of five partners with ‘excellent knowledge of defamation and privacy law’; it is ‘highly qualified’ and ‘delivers excellent results’. Its high-profile client base includes names such as Madonna, Kate Winslet, Nicolas Cage, Daniel Craig, Angelina Jolie, Russell Brand, David Walliams and Christiano Ronaldo, and it also acts for corporate clients such as HBOS, Gap, Harrods, Royal Mail Group and Syco. Recommended partners include the ‘expert’ Rachel Atkins; Gideon Benaim; Rod Christie-Miller; John Kelly; and the ‘renowned’ Keith Schilling.
Schillings has also been recommended for private client, entertainment and media and sport.
Chambers and partners - 2010 edition
This outfit acts for a mixture of celebrity, corporate and high net worth individual clients in defamation, privacy and reputation management matters, with an excellent profile that continues to attract a steady stream of new clients. Of late, it has obtained damages, an apology and a statement in court for Kaupthing Bank in its claim against a Danish newspaper. It is also representing JK Rowling's son in a ground-breaking privacy claim brought against Big Pictures.
Senior partner Keith Schilling is "the scourge of newspapers - he has a big practice and a phenomenal reputation." Interviewees compare Gideon Benaim to "a sparky Catherine wheel of ideas, who is always trying to find clever, new ways of doing things." Rachel Atkins is another highly regarded member of the team. Her litigation practice focuses on reputation management on behalf of corporate entities and high-profile individuals. Rod Christie-Miller "has absolutely top-notch technical knowledge and is always very up to date, which he combines with a great ability to explain things to clients and put them at their ease." John Kelly impresses interviewees with his reputation management practice, having recently acted for clients as high-profile and diverse as Northern Rock and Madonna.
Jenny Afia remains a favourite with clients for her work on both pre and post-publication matters. Clients identify Chris Scott as an up-and-coming associate due to his strong eye for tactics and detail.