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PEOPLE

David Hooper
Specialisms
Defamation, intellectual property

David Hooper is an internationally known defamation and intellectual property lawyer. He is well-known for fighting high-profile libel actions, complex copyright and breach of confidence disputes, as well as for handling complaints to the Press Complaints and Broadcasting Standards Commission.

David has been involved in many of the leading media litigation cases, and is author of several books, including Reputations Under Fire, Public Scandal, Odium and Contempt, and The Official Secrets Act.

Selected directory listings

  • "an impressive ability to grasp a case from a publishing point of view" - Chambers UK 2010
  • "highly regarded on an international basis" - Chambers UK 2010
  • "David Hooper has 'sound publishing knowledge and experience'" - The Legal 500, 2009 edition
  • "recognised internationally for his presence in the libel field" - Chambers UK 2009
  • "'Exceptionally sensible', [David Hooper] impresses his US publishing clients with his encyclopaedic knowledge of reputation management and defamation." - Chambers UK 2009
  • "understatedly excellent, vastly experienced, delightful, and knows the market inside and out" - The Legal 500, 2008 edition
  • "Clients praise David Hooper as being 'invariably swift, astute and attuned to our needs'." - The Legal 500, 2007 edition
  • "distinguished player" - Chambers UK 2007

Examples of relevant work

  • Spycatcher - acted for Peter Wright and his publishers in Australia
  • Vanity Fair - defence of the libel claim brought by Mohammed Fayed
  • Simon & Schuster - actions by Russian businessmen Loutchansky and Rakhimov
  • Sunday Times - groundbreaking ruling that a County Council (Derbyshire) could not sue for libel
  • Vanity Fair - defended a claim brought by Roman Polanski
  • Forbes magazine - defended a defamation claim brought by Boris Berezovsky which led to a House of Lords ruling on forum shopping