Athalie Matthews
Solicitor
Athalie specialises in defamation and the law of journalism.
Since joining the firm in 2003 she has successfully represented libel claimants from the worlds of television, sport, politics, education, religion and the charity sector against media defendants including BBC1, BBC Radio 4, Channel 4, Facebook, The Guardian, Guardian Unlimited, The Mirror, The Sun, The Daily Mail and monthly magazines.
Working with Cameron Doley, she achieved one of the largest libel awards of the decade for a Tunisian Opposition Leader who was awarded £165, 000 in damages against a global satellite channel following its broadcast of false allegations linking him with Al Qaeda.
She has secured numerous prominent apologies for clients ranging from teachers and business people to quiz show contestants and celebrities. Working with Guy Martin, she recently secured an apology for a prominent religious leader in a London based pan-Arab newspaper.
As well as her post publication work, Athalie is regularly instructed prior to publication to prevent national newspapers from publishing unfair or inaccurate material.
Athalie also has experience of representing defendants to libel claims, as well as defendant work in the regulatory sphere where she has acted for broadcasters threatened with sanctions by the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom.
Before training as a media lawyer Athalie was a journalist. She trained on The Mirror where she worked as a news and feature writer. She has also worked for The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Guardian Unlimited, BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Press Association, local television and Paris Match magazine.
Athalie read Modern and Medieval Languages (French and Spanish) at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
She speaks fluent French and Spanish and intermediate level Italian. She is also learning Arabic