Political Affairs Solicitors
We have significant experience advising politicians and senior professionals in the political arena. Our work covers the full range of services from acting for clients in high-profile defamation and privacy cases, to representing clients appearing before Select Committees or facing criminal or regulatory investigations. We do not merely understand the law, but we are at the heart of the system that shapes it.
"This is a hidden gem in the London litigation market: PHB will make a client feel taken care of, while building the best team to suit the demands of any given case."
Our team of expert lawyers is bolstered with consultants who have participated at the centre of government and understand the functioning of Westminster at the highest level. The counsel we give to our clients is therefore informed from a place of unparalleled perspective.
As a full-service firm working cross-departmentally, we draw on expertise in all legal practice areas, ensuring our clients’ needs are met, whether they require reputation management, investigative expertise, assistance with select committee hearings, representation in criminal investigations, campaign compliance services or are being persecuted, targeted or harassed.
Reputation management, media and privacy
Our lawyers guard our clients’ rights and reputations through our extensive experience in the laws of defamation, privacy, breach of confidence and harassment. We represent clients in high court litigation and have established some of the most significant developments in these areas of law.
We also help to shape stories before publication or broadcast to remove false allegations and private and confidential information. We limit unfair damage to reputation by preventing the further spread of allegations, removing false or private information from the internet and tracking down anonymous posters on social media.
We are ranked in Band 1 for Defamation/Reputation Management by Chambers High Net Worth.
Parliamentary, criminal and regulatory investigations
We advise clients on complex and high-profile criminal and regulatory investigations, both domestic and international, including those initiated by Parliament, whether by Select Committees or the Commissioner for Standards.
Our experts have extensive experience of advising clients throughout the parliamentary investigative process, together with any linked police investigations. Our work in this area is often fast paced and can attract the public glare and we are able to work closely with our reputation management team to predict and mitigate damage.
Parliamentary select committees
We protect the interests of senior figures in government and industry and ensure they are treated fairly throughout the course of hearings ensuring that proceedings are conducted fairly and that our clients are heard. Our strategy is informed by unbeaten knowledge of legislative frameworks and experience of a hostile media environment.
We provide comprehensive legal advice, ensuring our clients understand their rights and responsibilities and are prepared for both the hearing and the potential outcomes.
We manage associated media and communications during and after the hearing, bringing in specialist communications and strategy agencies where needed and pursue legal remedies if necessary, and provide clients with compliance and regulatory guidance.
Public inquiries
Members of the team have featured in some of the most high-profile inquests and public inquiries in recent decades. We are also used to advising on connected issues, including investigations by the police and other authorities, reputational issues and judicial review. We can assemble a team tailored to meet all challenges.
Elections and campaigning
To undertake an election campaign is to come under the eyes of a nation. Lobbying and campaigning is so often separated by a thin line, yet overstepping it can affect the reputation of individuals and the image of a campaign.
We navigate legal pitfalls so our clients can reach their political objectives without distraction or fear of missteps that put their reputations and their campaigns at risk. We are able to advise on compliance with the relevant rules and requirements as well as advising on investigations by the Electoral Commission.
With such high stakes and public and media scrutiny, the importance of proper legal compliance with electoral guidelines is clear.
Politically motivated persecution
Laws and legal processes designed to prosecute wrongdoing can be misused to oppress opponents.
We understand politics and diplomacy at the highest levels and are able to translate complex situations on the ground into a robust legal defence. Our lawyers have a political intelligence that assists in the development of sensitive, swift and discreet strategies to ensure access to justice and fairness.
We work in an interdisciplinary manner across the firm to protect our clients from the coordinated and sophisticated methods employed by those in power. Be it a defamatory press campaign, a response to a cyber-attacker a defence on arrest for politically motivated charges, we move quickly and decisively.
Our team is comprised of leading lawyers in the fields of reputation management, defence and investigations, privacy, cyber and public law. We have developed extensive networks of security, strategic communications and political experts to support our legal expertise from an early stage where required.
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