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09 June 2011 / Jennifer James
Issue: 7469 / Categories: Blogs , Media
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Monkey business

Jennifer James grapples with a transatlantic tweeting sensation, Mr Monkey & the Fourth Estate

The recent controversy about super-injunctions raises some intriguing questions, not least whether Ryan Giggs now believes he had good advice and good value for his litigation spend with Schillings; I’m guessing in the region of £250,000, and rising fast.

The story he was trying to stifle is even news stateside where they see football, sorry, soccer, as a girls’ game.

Why this transatlantic interest? Well, Giggs’s lawyers applied to obtain information from Twitter, based in California, concerning what they call “the unlawful use of Twitter by a small number of individuals who may have breached a court order.” With thousands Tweeting about Giggs, this reference to a “small number” suggests that Schillings wish to target particular users. If press insiders with actual knowledge of Giggs’s injunction used anonymous Twitter accounts to “out” him, or if individuals fixed with actual knowledge that CTB and Ryan Giggs were one Tweeted to that effect, they would, of course, be in contempt of court, and

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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