Rebecca joined JMW as a Senior Associate in July 2019. Having made partner in May 2021, Rebecca heads up our Media and Reputation Management team.
Rebecca’s team provides specialist media and reputation management advice to clients. The team is known for working collaboratively with clients and corporate clients’ management boards to advise, often at short notice, on reputational or privacy issues.
The team’s considerable experience in dealing with the Press/Media enables it to provide legal advice quickly, often in developing and time-critical situations. Rebecca is often involved in providing pre- and post-publication legal advice. The advice may include exploring the “traditional” legal routes, including interim injunctive relief, or engaging with a media outlet’s complaints process. Rebecca is alive to a client’s commercial and reputational concerns, and seeks to explore options that may be proportionate, appropriate, and cost-effective.
Rebecca has extensive experience in injunctive matters, including having acted in an injunction that led to a successful committal application that went before the Court of Appeal on sentencing.
With a background of having worked within the Commercial Litigation department and having acted for clients in the breakdown of corporate relationships, contractual disputes and in procurement disputes, Rebecca looks to provide legal advice in consideration of commercial pressures.
The Media and Reputation Management team has a depth and breadth to its experience, advising clients not in a legal vacuum but in consideration of wider regulatory (working alongside our Regulatory and Employment teams) or reputational issues to provide holistic and well-rounded advice on what can have a life-changing impact on an individual or the direction of a business.
Rebecca is known for being dedicated to assisting her clients in enforcing their legal rights, defending their legal position, and achieving positive outcomes. Rebecca frequently acts for individuals, whether that be those with a high profile, a high net work or an individual who may discover that their privacy and data privacy rights have been infringed in a way that may have life-changing and devastating consequences. Rebecca works closely with clients and is recognised for providing clear legal advice and being “on hand” to discuss clients’ concerns.
Rebecca continues to advise a broad spectrum of clients: ranging from talent agencies, social media stars, celebrities, sports stars, individuals, owner-managed businesses, and large corporates.
Rebecca advises corporate clients or individuals on the legal issues that arise from an internal investigation, or internal employee/contractor, or a regulator investigation where allegations of misconduct arise. Rebecca frequently works alongside our colleagues in the Employment and Regulatory teams to consider issues of confidentiality, reputational issues, and the regulatory issues that might arise, to provide holistic, commercial, and well-rounded advice on issues that may have a life-changing impact on clients or their business.
Rebecca advises on a broad spectrum of legal issues, including:
- Pre-publication and post-publication reputation management, including preventing and handling hostile media coverage
- Crisis reputation management
- Obtaining and defending urgent injunctive relief
- Defamation (libel and slander)
- Misuse of private information
- Breach of confidence
- The appropriateness and availability of court restrictions in ongoing or anticipated legal proceedings
- Harassment
- Rights to be Forgotten
Rebecca graduated from Leeds University in 2007 and completed the LPC at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2009. She trained and qualified at Pannone LLP in 2011.
Rebecca won the “Young Lawyer of the Year” award at the North West Insider’s 2019 Young Professionals Awards and is included in the Northern Power Women’s Future List 2018.
Accreditations
Rebecca is included in the Legal 500 “Next Generation Partners” having previously being listed as a "Rising Star" and described as:
Rebecca was also ranked as a key lawyer in last year’s Legal 500 Commercial Litigation, Northwest, with the following testimonial:
...an ability that belies her years. She is the best litigator of her level I have dealt with. She will be a superstar partner and litigator of the future. Complete command of every aspect of her case and sets and commands the very highest standards from those who work with her.