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For the surname, see Schillings (surname).
Not to be confused with Shillings.

Schillings
Company typeLimited liability partnership
IndustryLaw
FoundedLondon, 1984
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
United Kingdom, international
ServicesLegal advice and advocacy
Websiteschillingspartners.com

Schillings (originally Schilling & Lom) is an international reputation and privacy consultancy staffed by reputation, privacy, risk consulting, cyber security and intelligence specialists. The company is an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) and is regulated and authorized by the United Kingdom's Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). It offers legal services in areas including technology, media and finance.[1][2]

History

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The firm was founded in 1984 by Keith Schilling and Nicholas Lom and focused largely on media law, libel, and privacy protection. It was called by Index on Censorship "the scourge of many a Fleet Street editor" for obtaining anonymized gagging orders to protect celebrity clients' privacy.[3] In the early 2010s, the firm began to move away from pure media and libel work towards reputation protection for a large corporate, non-celebrity clientele.[4]

In 2012 Schillings acquired the information security firm Vigilante Bespoke.[5] In March 2013 the firm was granted two Alternative Business Structure licenses, one for the Schillings partnership and one for Schillings Corporate Limited which owns Vigilante Bespoke.[6][7]

The company restructured its organization in September 2013 and is now an integrated legal, risk management, IT security, and investigation business.[8] In 2023, the firm launched Schillings Communications.[9][10]

Notable cases

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In 2004, Schillings helped Lance Armstrong when confronted with doping allegations in the book L. A. Confidentiel, by David Walsh and Pierre Ballester. Schillings was told[vague] to tell "every UK paper and broadcaster" to not re-state what was in the book.[11] Gideon Benaim and Matthew Himsworth worked for Schillings on Armstrong's libel actions,[12] including a 2004 defamation suit against The Sunday Times for referencing information in the book.[13]

In May 2008, Keith Schilling won a privacy case in the Court of Appeal for the son of Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling. The case "says children of famous parents have the same right to expect privacy as children of parents who aren't well-known" granting them protection from intrusive photography.[14][15]

In April and May 2011, Schillings acted for Ryan Giggs in CTB v News Group Newspapers and obtained a "super-injunction" aimed at preventing the publication by The Sun of the details of an alleged extra-marital relationship between Giggs and Imogen Thomas. The case gained widespread media coverage and political discussion in the UK.[16][17]

In October 2012 Schillings' family division acted for the respondent's husband in the reported case BP v KP and NI. The case included not only companies by which one of the spouses was employed but also former colleagues and associates with whom a spouse was professionally acquainted.[18]

In January 2013 Schillings acted for Ned RocknRoll, husband to Kate Winslet. RocknRoll obtained an order preventing the Sun newspaper from publishing private images of RocknRoll taken from a Facebook page.[19]

In May 2013 Schillings Partner Davina Katz (who subsequently founded Katz Partners LLP) acted for Dale Vince who won his appeal against his ex-wife's claim for maintenance. This was viewed as a landmark judgment that set a precedent for future financial claims that may be made many years after a relationship has ended.[20][21]

In July 2013 Schillings acted for the author J. K. Rowling who brought proceedings against a lawyer who revealed that she had been writing under a pseudonym.[22]

In 2018, Schillings worked to stop the distribution of the book, Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope of The Wall Street Journal in the United Kingdom. The tactics used to disrupt distribution to British booksellers included threatening letters and legal missives. Some book vendors were warned about putting the book into the "True Crime" section of bookstores. The campaign against the publication of the book was unsuccessful and bookstores began selling copies on 12 September 2019.[23]

In 2019, Schillings helped Philip Green in his ultimately unsuccessful attempt to have his name kept from appearing in The Daily Telegraph for his use of NDAs. Mr. Justice Warby, presiding in this case, noted [1] that there had been "an unnecessary degree of partner involvement, and a degree of overmanning that cannot be justified."

In 2019 Schillings represented Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in a High Court claim against The Mail on Sunday over alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.[24] A Mail on Sunday spokesman said the paper stood by the story and would defend the case "vigorously".[25]

Schillings represented Malaysian fugitive Jho Low who was accused by US prosecutors of a money-laundering scheme connected to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.[26]

Schillings represented Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a long-time Vladimir Putin ally until he was placed under sanctions by the European Union due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[27]

Partners

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  • Founder Keith Schilling was listed as 10th in The Times 100 Most Powerful Lawyers list 2008,[28] and named in the Evening Standard's 2008 Survey of the 1000 most influential people in London.[29] In 2013, Schilling was awarded the 'Super Lawyer' leading lawyer accolade.[30]
  • Rod Christie Miller spoke to the parliamentary joint committee in 2011 on the draft defamation bill.[31]
  • Rachel Atkins acted for Jimmy Nail and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in his libel case against Ryanair's Michael O'Leary.[32]
  • Jenny Afia, who was also promoted to partner on 1 January 2012, was named Young Solicitor of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2008.[33][34]

Former partners

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  • Simon Smith, former Schillings managing partner, who has Hollywood actress Keira Knightley, Pam Brighton,[35] Caprice, the Government of Saudi Arabia, Tiger Woods, Rolf Harris and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo among his clients.[36]
  • Davina Katz (née Hay) who headed the firm's family division recently left to set up Katz Partners LLP.[37][38]
  • Chris Scott, who was promoted to partner at Schillings in January 2012,[27] was involved with the firm's submission to the Leveson Inquiry. He discussed the effect of the Leveson report's findings on reputation management in The Lawyer.[28] Scott left Schillings to start up reputation management boutique Himsworth Scott.

References

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  1. ^ "Schillings". Legal500. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Schillings - People". Schillings. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Schillings: Trollhunters General". Index on Censorship. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. ^ Beioley, Kate (5 September 2013). "Schillings relaunches as privacy and cyber-security firm | News". The Lawyer. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Top media firm and regional practice seeking external cash help take ABS total to over 100". Legal Futures. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  6. ^ Harris, Joanne (11 March 2013). "Schillings bucks trend with media ABSs | News". The Lawyer. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  7. ^ Harris, Joanne. "Schillings becomes latest firm to gain ABS licence | News". The Lawyer. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  8. ^ "From celebrity lawyers to reputation defence business – ABS completes transformation". Legal Futures. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  9. ^ Thomas, Daniel (5 September 2023). "Law firm Schillings takes on PR industry by setting up its own company". Financial Times.
  10. ^ Wilson, Eliot (28 September 2023). "Schillings is creating a new PR division to service wealthy clients – here's why it makes sense". Spear's. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  11. ^ "David Walsh: 'It was obvious to me Lance Armstrong was doping'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  12. ^ Chadderton, Sam (8 June 2012). "Libel star Benaim quits Schillings | News". The Lawyer. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Armstrong v Sunday Times in November". BikeRadar. 1 August 2005. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Harry Potter author wins privacy case". Edinburgh: The Scotsman. 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. (Note: Article no longer live in August 2013)
  15. ^ "Harry Potter author wins privacy case appeal – 13 WTHR Indianapolis". Wthr.com. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  16. ^ "Gagging Order: MP Names Footballer In Commons". Sky News. UK. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  17. ^ Wilkinson, Peter (23 May 2011). "Social media making mockery of privacy laws". CNN. USA. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  18. ^ "BP v KP and NI (Financial Remedy Proceedings: Res Judicata) [2012] EWHC 2995 (Fam)". Family Law Week. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  19. ^ Burton, Lucy. "Success for Schillings as Kate Winslet's husband blocks Sun images | News". The Lawyer. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  20. ^ Croft, Jane (26 May 2013). "Divorce case could ease life for entrepreneurs". FT.com. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  21. ^ "BBC News – Ecotricity tycoon Dale Vince wins case against ex-wife". BBC. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  22. ^ Philipson, Alice (31 July 2013). "JK Rowling accepts damages from law firm that revealed her secret identity". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  23. ^ "The story behind "Billion Dollar Whale"". The Economist. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  24. ^ Furness, Hannah (October 2019). "Prince Harry condemns 'ruthless campaign' against Meghan, saying he lost his mother to 'powerful forces' and fears history repeating". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  25. ^ "Meghan sues Mail on Sunday over private letter". BBC News. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  26. ^ "US congressman urges Biden to ban six UK lawyers for 'enabling' oligarchs". The Guardian. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  27. ^ Goldstein, Matthew; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Drucker, Jesse; Farrell, Maureen; McIntire, Mike (9 March 2022). "How Western Firms Quietly Enabled Russian Oligarchs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  28. ^ "Law". The Times. 2 April 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  29. ^ Go Or use our Advanced search. "Keith Schilling – Schillings – London – Lawyer Profile Chambers UK 2015 – Chambers and Partners". Chambersandpartners.com. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  30. ^ "Keith Schilling Lawyer in London, Solicitor". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  31. ^ "Player". Parliamentlive.tv. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  32. ^ "Schillings Announces Stelios Win in Ryanair Libel Battle". Prweb.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  33. ^ "Eversheds, Links honoured at British Legal Awards". Legalweek. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  34. ^ "35 Women Under 35 2013: Behind the scenes". Managementtoday.co.uk. 7 July 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  35. ^ Angelique Chrisafis (19 May 2004). "Director loses claim to hit show | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  36. ^ Dowell, Katy. "Tiger Woods' UK lawyer quits Schillings | News". The Lawyer. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  37. ^ "Legal Index | Spear's WMS". Spearswms.com. 20 July 2010. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  38. ^ "Citywealth – wealth management, finance, finance news, luxury lifestyle and philanthropy". Citywealthmag.com. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
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