Chilling Effects

Justice Secretary Jack Straw says the result of conditional fee arrangements, in which the plaintiffs’ attorneys can charge if they win, but nothing if they lose, is causing a “chilling effect” in British media law. For well financed media, such as newspapers in big cities this may not be as much of a problem, because they might be able to afford to see a high profile case to its conclusion, but for less affluent media in smaller cities, the threat of lawsuits could well cause a potential defendant to back down. Mr. Straw made his remarks to Parliament in testimony Tuesday.