Defamation law protects reputation from false statements of fact, but it also has to leave room for opinion, criticism, and reporting. We litigate that tension on both sides: pursuing claims for people and businesses harmed by false and damaging statements, and defending publishers, companies, and individuals against defamation claims that would punish protected speech. Libel, slander, and online attacks each raise distinct issues, and we handle all of them.
Pursuing Defamation Claims
When a false statement of fact damages your reputation or your business, we build the case to set the record straight. We prosecute libel and slander claims, establishing falsity, the required level of fault, and the resulting harm, and we pursue retractions, damages, and injunctive relief where available. We also assess early whether the statement is provably false fact rather than protected opinion, because that distinction often decides the case.
Defending Against Claims
We defend media companies, businesses, and individuals against defamation claims, including the meritless ones designed to silence rather than recover. The strongest defenses, truth, opinion, fair comment, and applicable privileges, turn on the facts and the precise words used, so we dig into both. Where anti-SLAPP statutes apply, we move early to dispose of claims aimed at chilling speech and to shift fees back to the plaintiff.
Public Figure Standards
When a public official or public figure sues, the First Amendment raises the bar: the plaintiff must prove actual malice, meaning the statement was made with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. We litigate that demanding standard from both directions, marshaling the proof of state of mind a plaintiff needs, or showing its absence to defeat a claim, and we contest who qualifies as a public figure in the first place.
Online Reputation And Section 230
Defamation on the internet brings its own problems: anonymous posters, content that spreads faster than any retraction, and platforms shielded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. We pursue the parties actually responsible for false statements, use proper procedures to unmask anonymous defendants, and address platform immunity realistically, advising plaintiffs on where Section 230 forecloses a claim and defendants on when its protection applies.