Hill Dickinson targets media disputes

Following its merger with niche commercial firm Gorna & Co at the start of this year, the firm has announced the establishment of a media disputes resolution unit.
Based across the firm's offices in Manchester, Liverpool and London, the unit comprises five partners. Partners Paul Walton and Richard Greene are based in Liverpool, while in Manchester two former Gorna partners, Warren Usden and Mike Morrison, are also involved. Partner Jamie Monck-Mason is based in London. Walton said the team had already been consulted by several high-profile personalities in the North West in relation to privacy issues.
"We noted a changing trend in the increasing number of privacy claims coming through. The courts are still tussling with the rights of privacy on the one hand and the right to free expression, which emanates from the Human Rights Act, on the other," said Walton.
"When Gorna joined us it became apparent that we could have a unit specifically targeting this area of work and the cross-fertilising of the two practices makes us very powerful," he added. "Between us we cover the North of England and have ready access to London as we use London specialist counsel."
Walton said that he expected the unit to expand as more work came in. "We've got to be ready for the high-profile results going through, such as Flitcroft and Campbell. In Manchester there's a couple of cases waiting on the outcome of the Campbell and Flitcroft cases already. It's a good opportunity for us and a very emerging area."