Consumer Law

Writing With Libel in Mind

By Paul Levy

Public Citizen has released a guide for bloggers and non-profit organizations about writing with libel considerations in mind.  Nothing can more disable a critic of misconduct by companies or political figures than getting embroiled in a libel suit.  Absent a strong anti-SLAPP statute, one who makes trenchant criticisms is never safe from such litigation, but it is important to know how to write ? and check ? such criticisms in a way that will avoid litigation or, at least, give the best chance of early exit from litigation with finances intact.

The guide discusses the elementary principles of libel law and explains how to prepare for and conduct a pre-publication libel review.  We emphasize the importance of having a third party, who was not otherwise involved in the preparation of a report or blog post that criticizes individuals or organizations, compare all possibly-defamatory statements with the sources for those statements.  A good libel review is best done by a lawyer familiar with libel litigation, but the guide explains why some review is better than none, even for those who cannot afford a libel expert.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on March 20, 2009 (boomark / email).