Macfarlanes has unwittingly found itself in the centre of a media storm after it was accused of trying to influence a claimant who is suing one of its clients.
The firm is defending oil trader Trafigura, which denies accusations of illegally dumping toxic waste in Côte d'Ivoire. Some 30,000 Ivorians claim that they have been poisoned and have launched a class action against the company. The controversy surrounding Macfarlanes arose after it met one of the claimants, Bou N’Dja, in Morocco after the firm flew him out to a five star hotel.
The Ivorians’ solicitors, Leigh Day & Co, claimed that Macfarlanes was trying to get N’Dja to change his statement and obtained an injunction forbidding the firm from contacting the claimants. Last week the story hit Newsnight, with the BBC's official sneering newsmeister Jeremy Paxman asking why anyone would need to treat an impoverished tiler who had never been on a plane to five star all expenses paid trip. Trafigura immediately announced that it was suing the BBC for defamation.
All of this must have come as a bit of a surprise to Macfarlanes, and the firm claims that it has behaved entirely properly and has issued a statement to the effect that it had very good reasons to meet N’Dja.
Law firms may not always be the best at handling PR issues - Penningtons' decision to act for a murderous dictator, being a fairly good example. But Trafigura is a well established international company and it seems unlikely Macfarlanes would have anticipated that they would be on the receiving end of a mauling on Newsnight for defending it. Expect law firm PR budgets to increase over the next few years, credit crunch or not
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The firm is defending oil trader Trafigura, which denies accusations of illegally dumping toxic waste in Côte d'Ivoire. Some 30,000 Ivorians claim that they have been poisoned and have launched a class action against the company. The controversy surrounding Macfarlanes arose after it met one of the claimants, Bou N’Dja, in Morocco after the firm flew him out to a five star hotel.
The Ivorians’ solicitors, Leigh Day & Co, claimed that Macfarlanes was trying to get N’Dja to change his statement and obtained an injunction forbidding the firm from contacting the claimants. Last week the story hit Newsnight, with the BBC's official sneering newsmeister Jeremy Paxman asking why anyone would need to treat an impoverished tiler who had never been on a plane to five star all expenses paid trip. Trafigura immediately announced that it was suing the BBC for defamation.
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All of this must have come as a bit of a surprise to Macfarlanes, and the firm claims that it has behaved entirely properly and has issued a statement to the effect that it had very good reasons to meet N’Dja.
Law firms may not always be the best at handling PR issues - Penningtons' decision to act for a murderous dictator, being a fairly good example. But Trafigura is a well established international company and it seems unlikely Macfarlanes would have anticipated that they would be on the receiving end of a mauling on Newsnight for defending it. Expect law firm PR budgets to increase over the next few years, credit crunch or not