The ‘attack dog’ firm that acted for Giggs, Terry and Ronaldo
THE “attack dog” law firm hired by the businessman to block The Daily Telegraph’s reporting of his alleged behaviour is famed in the legal world for its aggressive attempts to shut down newspaper stories.
Schillings has become the go-to law firm for those wanting to obtain injunctions to gag newspapers from publishing stories that are seen as damaging to them. It has had notable successes since it was founded in 1984, but its tenacity has backfired at times.
The firm became expert at seeking so-called super-injunctions, where even the reporting of the injunction’s existence was banned. The orders, however, proved useless when public outrage led to celebrities being outed on Twitter and even in Parliament. Most recently the firm, which specialises in crisis management, has represented Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been accused of rape by 34-yearold model Kathryn Mayorga. Ronaldo, who denies the allegations. Ms Mayorga previously reached a non-disclosure agreement in 2010.
In 2011, the firm acted for Ryan Giggs to obtain a super-injunction to prevent reporting of the footballer’s affair with former Miss Wales and Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas. The injunction proved useless when Giggs attempted to sue Twitter for allowing the publication of tweets revealing his identity. Thousands of Twitter users retaliated by re-tweeting the details.
Giggs was also named in Parliament by Lib Dem MP John Hemming, who used parliamentary privilege to break the injunction during an urgent Commons question on privacy orders.
The firm’s tactics were also criticised in 2010, when it acted for John Terry, the former England football captain, in his attempt to prevent the media disclosing an affair.
A judge refused to grant the injunction, saying it was being sought to protect Terry’s commercial image rather than his privacy, and criticised Schillings for not giving newspapers notice of the action.
‘The firm’s tactics were criticised when it acted for England captain John Terry’