Lewis Silkin has agreed to to pay £500,000 in costs to a media lawyer for snooping through her emails.

Sarah Webb was a partner at legacy firm Russell Jones & Walker, but left after a dispute with the firm in 2011. She is now a partner at Dayne Hicks Beech, where she specialises in "reputational management", acting for clients including Vicky Pryce, who was jailed for perverting the course of justice to protect ex-husband Chris Huhne, and Andrew Gould, a dressage rider accused of having an affair with Jordan.

Slater & Gordon, which merged with RJ&W in 2012, instructed Lewis Silkin to act for it in an arbitration with Webb over the dispute with her former firm. When Lewis Silkin informed Webb that it intended to access her old email account because it might contain relevant information, Webb objected, saying it contained medical records, sensitive emails about her divorce and legally privileged information.

She subsequently discovered that Lewis Silkin had gone ahead and read hundreds of personal emails, including correspondence with her husband and her lawyers concerning her separation. Webb instructed libel rottweilers Carter-Ruck to sue Lewis Silkin in the High Court for misuse of private information and breach of confidence, saying that she was “deeply upset” and “shaken to the core” by the “gross and deliberate invasion of privacy” which caused her “severe embarrassment and distress”.

    The Game of Litigators* 

Lewis Silkin argued that because the emails were in her work account they were subject to standard disclosure obligations. But it decided not to bet the farm on its argument, and settled with Webb for £17k and her costs. Which were quite a lot. Never knowingly underpaid, Carter-Ruck's fees topped half a million. A spokesman for Lewis Silkin, eyes watering at the bill, said, "So far as Lewis Silkin was concerned the claim was settled for purely commercial reasons", because "the costs of the claim were wholly disproportionate".

Webb said Lewis Silkin "repeatedly made erroneous statements about the searches" and "fought this case at every stage, including trying to prohibit me bringing the claim at all in the courts". She confirmed, "In the light of this I am now going to make a complaint to the SRA about the conduct of Lewis Silkin". A spokeswoman for Slater & Gordon told RollOnFriday that it was not "paying or liable" for any of Lewis Silkin's bill.

*If any litigators can provide a letter they've sent to the other side which wins Outrage Bingo, RollOnFriday t-shirt glory awaits
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Comments

Anonymous 01 July 16 17:44

"Dayne Hicks Beech"? Payne Hicks Beach should complain - so should ROF about their blind editor

Anonymous 01 July 16 20:37

Surely it was costs TBA if not agreed on standard basis? Can't see a global of £500k with £17k specifically stated to be damages?!!!

Anonymous 08 July 16 10:15

But surely LS would have made all employees sign something saying that their emails might be searched, no? If not, is it not just implied that a company can look through its employees' work email accounts if necessary? Surprised they settled.