Who? Callum Galbraith, partner, Hamlins, London.

Callum Galbraith

Why is he in the news? Represents Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Sadie Frost in litigation against Associated Newspapers Limited relating to allegations of unlawful information-gathering, which are now proceeding to trial. Associated Newspapers denies the allegations.

Thoughts on the case: ‘The claims, which I worked closely on from the outset with lawyers David Sherborne and Anjlee Sangani, are the first unlawful information-gathering claims (which include allegations of landline tapping and burglary to order) brought against Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Hamlins acts for Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Sadie Frost. Within months of the claims being issued, Associated made various applications which were substantially focused upon immediately bringing the claims to a swift conclusion on the basis that the claims were statute-barred, i.e. summary judgment. The judge commented that a four-day High Court hearing prior to the claims even being acknowledged was, in his experience, unprecedented. The judge rejected this application and said he was able to do this without difficulty. The next steps involve the court determining, if necessary, direction in relation to the claims so that they can now proceed to trial.’

Associated Newspapers said: ‘As we have always made unequivocally clear, the lurid claims made by Prince Harry and others of phone-hacking, landline-tapping, burglary and sticky-window microphones are simply preposterous and we look forward to establishing this in court in due course. We are grateful to the judge for the careful consideration he has given to our applications.’

Dealing with the media: ‘Interest has been intense at every stage: from the claims being issued, the court hearing and the judgment itself. The interest has been unsurprising given the nature of the allegations and the parties involved. In particular, at the four-day hearing at the High court in March the presence of film crews and photographers outside the court and reporters inside the courtroom was felt intensely. This position became more acute when various claimants attended the hearing in person at a number of stages. As well as carefully managing the courtroom itself to accommodate media interest and security concerns, the court also adeptly ensured that there was a livestream of the hearing available to those who had requested access in advance.’ 

Why become a lawyer? ‘I quickly realised that I wanted to specialise in media law having been fascinated during my A-levels as to how different media outlets reported upon different stories and then having studied politics at Durham. Every day for me brings a new challenge and I also love that I am able to do something which can really make a difference to our clients’ lives.’

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