Schillings, the assertive British libel law firm, is establishing its own public relations and communications agency to offer clients an alternative approach to managing their reputation.
George Pascoe-Watson, who chairs the UK PR firm Portland and previously served as the political editor of The Sun newspaper, has been recruited to lead the new venture, along with Victoria O’Byrne, a former communications director for the Prince and Princess of Wales and for Sir Richard Branson at Virgin Group.
Both Pascoe-Watson and O’Byrne will become equity partners alongside Schillings in this as-yet-unnamed company.
Schillings has gained recognition in the City for its confrontations with the press in defense of clients facing scrutiny of their private lives or businesses. The law firm has represented notable figures such as Sir Philip Green, Lance Armstrong, Meghan Markle, Johnny Depp, and acted as an adviser to the German payments group Wirecard.
In recent years, Schillings has shifted its focus to expand its reputation management services, including corporate investigations, cybersecurity, and military expertise, in addition to its defamation and libel law practice.
The law firm stated that this new business is a response to an increasingly complex world where individuals and organizations depend on their reputation for licenses to operate, both in the court of law and the court of public opinion. They emphasized the need to address intensified scrutiny, digital and privacy threats, smear campaigns, complex reputation risks, and the rapid pace of the digital age.
A source involved in the new venture stated that it signifies an acknowledgment that reputational needs are evolving, and a more sophisticated and comprehensive toolkit is required. They stressed that legal solutions aren’t always the right approach and that a more nuanced strategy is emerging to serve clients for the long term.
Schillings had been referring business to external PR firms, recognizing a commercial opportunity in offering comprehensive reputation management services. The agency aims to grow rapidly, with plans to match the size of its legal practice with an equivalently sized PR and communications agency.
David Imison, the CEO of Schillings, noted, “With the pace of technological change, intensified scrutiny, proliferation of falsehoods, and the ramification of cultural and generational faultlines, the reputational terrain has never been so complex to navigate.”