12 May 2011
bto solicitors, Glasgow and Edinburgh, have launched a dedicated product in response to rising demand from organisations and individuals facing damage to their reputation in cyberspace.
The On Line Reputation Team is headed by well known IT Solicitor Advocate, Paul Motion, who is recognised by The Legal 500 for his IT advocacy work and “has a calm manner, and is diligent and knowledgeable” relative to Information Technology matters (Chambers and Partners). Clients praise him for being a lawyer who“...understands the legal process and how to influence it.” (The Legal 500).
Describing the rationale for the creation of the On Line Reputation Team, Paul said: “We have launched this service to fill what we see as a gap in the market. Until now, reputation protection has often meant hiring a large firm which represents the press or TV. bto has built up hands-on experience advising small to medium sized organisations faced with damage to their reputation on the internet. Recently, for example, a company found fake reviews of their service levels on directory websites. This was potentially very damaging as their main market was in attracting USA visitors to Scotland. We had to engage with an Internet Service Provider for IP number traces. We have also seen several cases involving social networking sites, where adverse comments were posted about a business or its management, usually by disgruntled former employees, but sometimes involving present employees too. We can advise how to manage these situations and take direct action if necessary. Our use of solicitor advocates means bto can offer clients a one-stop shop with quick reaction times and continuity of case handling.”
bto has also had to deal with internet reputation cases involving individual clients. “We recently advised a professional who faced false allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of medical records on about twenty blogs as well as social networking sites: it does not get much more serious than that.” comments Paul, “Eventually we obtained Prevention from Harassment Orders which the Police did need to follow up after an apparent breach. Finally, the message got through and the activity stopped”. Another case involved workplace infatuation where the rebuffed employee created a website consisting of genuine portrait photos superimposed on pornography.
bto sees the On Line Reputation Team as complementing its existing expertise in relation to employment law, where its Employment Team, which includes two accredited specialists, Caroline Carr and David Hoey, is highly respected, as well as in relation to traditional defamation. The On Line Reputation Team can also advise on preventative measures such as restrictive employment covenants and social networking policies.
Willie Young, bto’s Chairman, said: “We believe that we have a well rounded offering to bring to the market and we look forward to achieving further successful outcomes for clients in this innovative area of the law.”