MEET:
Catrin Evans KC
"She is a great leader. Really technically aware and really unflappable in complex and technical cases."
Chambers & Partners 2024
Catrin specialises in all aspects of media and information law. She has appeared in many of the leading cases in the fields of defamation, privacy, data protection, breach of confidence, and related human rights.
She acts for claimants and defendants; from private individuals to media and non-media corporates including national newspaper groups, broadcasters, global internet companies and public bodies including government. Her expertise segues into related commercial, employment and public law and also encompasses harassment, malicious falsehood, media reporting restrictions, contempt of court, media regulatory work and freedom of information.
Notable cases in which she has acted have included Lloyd v Google LLC, Hijazi v Yaxley-Lennon, Vidal-Hall v Google, Melania Trump v Associated Newspapers, the ‘Plebgate’ libel case, and Naomi Campbell v MGN.
Catrin has appeared in many of the leading, high profile cases in the fields of defamation, privacy, data protection, breach of confidence, reporting restrictions, and contempt.
Her regular instructions include substantial defamation claims involving newspapers, broadcasters, citizens and campaigning groups, including on a wide range of public interest issues from political scandal and allegations of corporate corruption to the efficacy of a drug treatment. Examples include Amersi v BBC (claim about corruption claims in Panorama programme), Craig Wright v McCormack (action about claimant’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin), Harcombe v Associated Newspapers Ltd (trial of public interest defences in claims about the statins drug), Hijazi v Yaxley-Lennon (Syrian refugee awarded £100,000 damages at trial against Tommy Robinson), Karpov v Browder (claim about ‘the Magnitsky List’ and corruption in Russia), the ‘Plebgate’ libel trial, Brown v Bower & Faber & Faber (action about the ‘outing’ of a Labour politician) and Melania Trump v Associated Newspapers (claim as to First Lady’s immigration status).
She also regularly acts in privacy, data protection and breach of confidence claims for and against media publishers and others. Examples include: Lawrence & ors v Associated Newspapers Ltd (phone hacking claims against the Mail), Pacini v Dow Jones Inc (right to be forgotten data claims against Wall Street Journal), Appleby v BBC (Paradise Papers corporate disclosures),ENRC v Akezhan Kazhegeldin (confidence claim against former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan) and Weller v Associated Newspapers Ltd (privacy claim by musician’s children).
Catrin frequently acts in claims arising from social media disputes involving individuals and organisations – often encompassing “trolling” and ‘culture war’ issues such as gender and race. Such claims generally include privacy, data protection, harassment or libel. Examples include: Miller v Turner (Twitter trial about anti-semitism in the art world), R (on the application of TT) v Registrar General for England and Wales (trans father seeking reporting restriction anonymity in public law claim), CWD v Nevitt (Facebook allegations of rape in #metoo context), and Bindel v Pink News (trans/feminist dispute).
Catrin also has a substantial practice in claims arising from online users’ data privacy rights in relation to non-traditional platforms, particularly those with an international jurisdiction angle. This has included the leading cases establishing the law in this area: Metropolitan International Schools v Google Inc. [2009] EMLR 27 (search engine not liable for defamatory results), Tamiz v Google Inc. [2013] 1 WLR 2151 (blogger host not liable for defamatory posts), Vidal-Hall v Google Inc. [2016] QB 1003 (definition of ‘damage’ and various data privacy issues related to the placing of cookies on browsers), NT1/NT2 v Google LLC [2018] 3 WLR 1165 (the first ‘right to be forgotten’ claims tried in the English courts), and Lloyd v Google LLC (appeal to the Supreme Court, 2021).
She also advises claimants and defendants on Freedom of Information Act claims. In addition, she advises broadcasters, newspapers, corporates and organisations on all such issues pre-publication.
Catrin takes cases in the commercial and employment law setting where they raise issues of breach of confidence, data privacy, defamation or segue into media law. Examples include: acting for defendants to a breach of confidence counterclaim raised in a wider fraud/conspiracy claim, acting for the National Crime Agency in a trial about employee data – Cooper v National Crime Agency [2019] EWCA Civ 16, advising on media access to Employment Tribunal documents and acting for the BBC in respect of reporting restrictions in an unequal pay tribunal claim – Samira Ahmed v BBC.
Catrin was on the Attorney-General’s “A” Panel of Counsel before taking silk and still advises government on matters within the media and information law fields. She also advises individuals and organisations in respect of judicial review and other public law cases where an interface arises with media and information law, including in respect of open justice and reporting restrictions, access to documents, and state secrecy and surveillance.
Most of the media and information law claims in which Catrin advises encompass human rights issues affecting freedom of expression, privacy and data privacy in particular.
Catrin acted in some of the earliest ground-breaking freedom of expression and privacy cases which established the law under the then new Human Rights Act: e.g. Naomi Campbell v MGN Ltd [2004] 2 AC 457 (for the claimant: established new tort of misuse of private information), Cream Holdings v Banerjee [2005] 1 AC 253 (for defendant newspaper: test for relief in freedom of expression cases under HRA), Greene v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2005] QB 972 (for defendant newspaper: reconciliation of libel interim injunction principles with HRA).
Catrin is regularly asked to advise on group litigation in the data protection sphere. She acted for techUK, which was allowed to intervene in the Supreme Court in the most important case so far in this field – Lloyd v Google LLC – and is acting for multiple claimants in a data privacy claim against an online platform.
Catrin was the Legal 500’s Media & the Arts Silk of the Year for 2023. Catrin was nominated for the Chambers and Partners Bar Awards Silk of the Year for Defamation/Privacy in 2017 (her first full year in silk) and 2021 and won the award for Junior of the Year for Defamation/Privacy in 2008 and 2015, as well as being nominated on four other occasions.
Catrin is co-editor and an author of Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide (Matrix, 2017)
Catrin regularly contributes to seminars and is always happy to consider requests to do so.
Catrin is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to their clients, including advice and representation services, Catrin needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes their client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which they are instructed. To read Catrin’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
"Catrin is very user-friendly, very engaged and she has nice style in court where she manages the bench nicely." "Catrin is willing and able to make very difficult calls in complex cases."
"Catrin is incredibly personable and very astute. She is willing and able to make very difficult calls in complex cases." "She is exceptional in her guidance and understanding of the area and law. Her written advocacy is really effective."
"Catrin gives incredibly strategic and thoughtful advice and is a very elegant and persuasive advocate. “Catrin is brilliant. She has great judgement and great ability."
"Strategic, insightful and a cool head; Catrin is a real pleasure to work with."
"She is very thorough." "Catrin is brilliant."
"Catrin is an extremely bright silk who is great at making clients feel at ease."
"She has unsurpassed knowledge and attention to detail." "She's very bright, measured, calm and an all-round solid advocate." "Her advocacy is effective."
"Very personable, making the client feel at ease; extremely knowledgeable, especially on libel."
"She is a brilliant legal mind and provides calm, considered analysis." "Catrin has excellent tactical nous. She can see through minutiae of a case to get a golden thread of strategy, and it is almost always the right one." "She is a great leader. Really technically aware and really unflappable in complex and technical cases."
"Catrin is sublime. She provides searing analysis, has an excellent manner and is calmly assured. Also, her written and spoken work are both clear, helpful and practical." "Catrin is incredibly personable, a great advocate, super bright and knows the law inside and out."
"Her advice is very in-depth and high calibre." "Catrin Evans is fantastically clever, hugely brilliant with detail and fantastic with clients." "She is exceptional and incredibly smart. She's a very good tactical litigator."
"Brilliant advocate with excellent technical knowledge. Superb instincts and judgment. Balances technical understanding with sound commercial advice."
"Catrin is exceptional in both picking apart the claimant’s evidence in cross-examination and taking the judge through the evidence and law in a compelling manner. She is absolutely first rate."
"Catrin is adept at making very complex issues straightforward." "She is very clear in the way that she argues and is hyper organised." "She is good on the technical points of law."
"She has a real sensitivity for the intricacies of data protection law and how it overlaps with other areas like privacy and defamation and EU regulation." "She's great, easy to work with, and provides a positive experience overall."
"Exceptionally bright and all over the detail of any case. She has great judgement and is absolutely who I want in my corner."
"She has superb judgement and is good at reading judges. One of the top silks at the media Bar."
"An extremely clear and strategic thinker. She has excellent judgement and does not miss a point.” “Intelligent, collaborative and thoughtful. We like her understated but confident manner.” “She gives superb and reasoned advice to clients and has a particular strength in cases with a data protection element."
"She is super bright, lovely to work with and a go-to for media and tech clients.” “She always knows what to say to advance her client’s interest.” “She is a phenomenal mix of attention to detail and approachability."
"A highly intelligent and adept barrister. She has incredible attention to detail and is very confident on her feet and easy to work with and is wonderful with clients."
"An outstanding advocate who continues to impress. Superb, incredibly bright and simply does not miss a beat."
"Brilliant lawyer and strategist. Doggedly determined. A charming advocacy style. Great team player and good fun to work with."
"She’s extremely knowledgeable, wonderful with the client, and someone who instils a great deal of confidence.” “Extremely easy to work with, and very on top of how the media operate."
"She knows her way round all the intricacies of media law.” “She is extremely thorough and thinks of everything. Considered and effective."
"Enjoys an excellent reputation as an intelligent advocate capable of handling the most nuanced arguments in information law."
"Her reputation as the top junior at the Defamation Bar was fully merited, and has now been recognised with her appointment as a QC this year. She is clever, hard-working and calm, and has extremely good tactical awareness and judgement."
"She is super brainy and a very pragmatic adviser. She has a great sense of what the client needs and completely understands the law and its complexities."
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
"She is a great leader. Really technically aware and really unflappable in complex and technical cases."
Chambers & Partners 2024
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Commercial Law
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Court Orders affecting the Media
- Data Protection
- Defamation and Privacy
- Harassment
- Injunctions
- Investigations
- Media and Information Law
- Sports Law
- Public Law: Information, Data and Privacy
Catrin Evans KC
Contact Catrin: catrinevans@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447
Contact Catrin's Practice Team (Team M): TeamM@matrixlaw.co.uk
Catrin specialises in all aspects of media and information law. She has appeared in many of the leading cases in the fields of defamation, privacy, data protection, breach of confidence, and related human rights.
She acts for claimants and defendants; from private individuals to media and non-media corporates including national newspaper groups, broadcasters, global internet companies and public bodies including government. Her expertise segues into related commercial, employment and public law and also encompasses harassment, malicious falsehood, media reporting restrictions, contempt of court, media regulatory work and freedom of information.
Notable cases in which she has acted have included Lloyd v Google LLC, Hijazi v Yaxley-Lennon, Vidal-Hall v Google, Melania Trump v Associated Newspapers, the ‘Plebgate’ libel case, and Naomi Campbell v MGN.
Media and Information Law
Catrin has appeared in many of the leading, high profile cases in the fields of defamation, privacy, data protection, breach of confidence, reporting restrictions, and contempt.
Her regular instructions include substantial defamation claims involving newspapers, broadcasters, citizens and campaigning groups, including on a wide range of public interest issues from political scandal and allegations of corporate corruption to the efficacy of a drug treatment. Examples include Amersi v BBC (claim about corruption claims in Panorama programme), Craig Wright v McCormack (action about claimant’s claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin), Harcombe v Associated Newspapers Ltd (trial of public interest defences in claims about the statins drug), Hijazi v Yaxley-Lennon (Syrian refugee awarded £100,000 damages at trial against Tommy Robinson), Karpov v Browder (claim about ‘the Magnitsky List’ and corruption in Russia), the ‘Plebgate’ libel trial, Brown v Bower & Faber & Faber (action about the ‘outing’ of a Labour politician) and Melania Trump v Associated Newspapers (claim as to First Lady’s immigration status).
She also regularly acts in privacy, data protection and breach of confidence claims for and against media publishers and others. Examples include: Lawrence & ors v Associated Newspapers Ltd (phone hacking claims against the Mail), Pacini v Dow Jones Inc (right to be forgotten data claims against Wall Street Journal), Appleby v BBC (Paradise Papers corporate disclosures),ENRC v Akezhan Kazhegeldin (confidence claim against former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan) and Weller v Associated Newspapers Ltd (privacy claim by musician’s children).
Catrin frequently acts in claims arising from social media disputes involving individuals and organisations – often encompassing “trolling” and ‘culture war’ issues such as gender and race. Such claims generally include privacy, data protection, harassment or libel. Examples include: Miller v Turner (Twitter trial about anti-semitism in the art world), R (on the application of TT) v Registrar General for England and Wales (trans father seeking reporting restriction anonymity in public law claim), CWD v Nevitt (Facebook allegations of rape in #metoo context), and Bindel v Pink News (trans/feminist dispute).
Catrin also has a substantial practice in claims arising from online users’ data privacy rights in relation to non-traditional platforms, particularly those with an international jurisdiction angle. This has included the leading cases establishing the law in this area: Metropolitan International Schools v Google Inc. [2009] EMLR 27 (search engine not liable for defamatory results), Tamiz v Google Inc. [2013] 1 WLR 2151 (blogger host not liable for defamatory posts), Vidal-Hall v Google Inc. [2016] QB 1003 (definition of ‘damage’ and various data privacy issues related to the placing of cookies on browsers), NT1/NT2 v Google LLC [2018] 3 WLR 1165 (the first ‘right to be forgotten’ claims tried in the English courts), and Lloyd v Google LLC (appeal to the Supreme Court, 2021).
She also advises claimants and defendants on Freedom of Information Act claims. In addition, she advises broadcasters, newspapers, corporates and organisations on all such issues pre-publication.
Commercial/employment
Catrin takes cases in the commercial and employment law setting where they raise issues of breach of confidence, data privacy, defamation or segue into media law. Examples include: acting for defendants to a breach of confidence counterclaim raised in a wider fraud/conspiracy claim, acting for the National Crime Agency in a trial about employee data – Cooper v National Crime Agency [2019] EWCA Civ 16, advising on media access to Employment Tribunal documents and acting for the BBC in respect of reporting restrictions in an unequal pay tribunal claim – Samira Ahmed v BBC.
Public Law
Catrin was on the Attorney-General’s “A” Panel of Counsel before taking silk and still advises government on matters within the media and information law fields. She also advises individuals and organisations in respect of judicial review and other public law cases where an interface arises with media and information law, including in respect of open justice and reporting restrictions, access to documents, and state secrecy and surveillance.
Human Rights
Most of the media and information law claims in which Catrin advises encompass human rights issues affecting freedom of expression, privacy and data privacy in particular.
Catrin acted in some of the earliest ground-breaking freedom of expression and privacy cases which established the law under the then new Human Rights Act: e.g. Naomi Campbell v MGN Ltd [2004] 2 AC 457 (for the claimant: established new tort of misuse of private information), Cream Holdings v Banerjee [2005] 1 AC 253 (for defendant newspaper: test for relief in freedom of expression cases under HRA), Greene v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2005] QB 972 (for defendant newspaper: reconciliation of libel interim injunction principles with HRA).
Group Litigation
Catrin is regularly asked to advise on group litigation in the data protection sphere. She acted for techUK, which was allowed to intervene in the Supreme Court in the most important case so far in this field – Lloyd v Google LLC – and is acting for multiple claimants in a data privacy claim against an online platform.
Awards
Catrin was the Legal 500’s Media & the Arts Silk of the Year for 2023. Catrin was nominated for the Chambers and Partners Bar Awards Silk of the Year for Defamation/Privacy in 2017 (her first full year in silk) and 2021 and won the award for Junior of the Year for Defamation/Privacy in 2008 and 2015, as well as being nominated on four other occasions.
Publications
Catrin is co-editor and an author of Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide (Matrix, 2017)
Catrin regularly contributes to seminars and is always happy to consider requests to do so.
Catrin's Privacy Notice
Catrin Evans QC is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to her clients, including advice and representation services, Catrin needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes her client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which she is instructed. To read Catrin’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS
"Catrin is very user-friendly, very engaged and she has nice style in court where she manages the bench nicely." "Catrin is willing and able to make very difficult calls in complex cases."
"Catrin is incredibly personable and very astute. She is willing and able to make very difficult calls in complex cases." "She is exceptional in her guidance and understanding of the area and law. Her written advocacy is really effective."
"Catrin gives incredibly strategic and thoughtful advice and is a very elegant and persuasive advocate. “Catrin is brilliant. She has great judgement and great ability."
"Strategic, insightful and a cool head; Catrin is a real pleasure to work with."
"She is very thorough." "Catrin is brilliant."
"Catrin is an extremely bright silk who is great at making clients feel at ease."
"She has unsurpassed knowledge and attention to detail." "She's very bright, measured, calm and an all-round solid advocate." "Her advocacy is effective."
"Very personable, making the client feel at ease; extremely knowledgeable, especially on libel."
"She is a brilliant legal mind and provides calm, considered analysis." "Catrin has excellent tactical nous. She can see through minutiae of a case to get a golden thread of strategy, and it is almost always the right one." "She is a great leader. Really technically aware and really unflappable in complex and technical cases."
"Catrin is sublime. She provides searing analysis, has an excellent manner and is calmly assured. Also, her written and spoken work are both clear, helpful and practical." "Catrin is incredibly personable, a great advocate, super bright and knows the law inside and out."
"Her advice is very in-depth and high calibre." "Catrin Evans is fantastically clever, hugely brilliant with detail and fantastic with clients." "She is exceptional and incredibly smart. She's a very good tactical litigator."
"Brilliant advocate with excellent technical knowledge. Superb instincts and judgment. Balances technical understanding with sound commercial advice."
"Catrin is exceptional in both picking apart the claimant’s evidence in cross-examination and taking the judge through the evidence and law in a compelling manner. She is absolutely first rate."
"Catrin is adept at making very complex issues straightforward." "She is very clear in the way that she argues and is hyper organised." "She is good on the technical points of law."
"She has a real sensitivity for the intricacies of data protection law and how it overlaps with other areas like privacy and defamation and EU regulation." "She's great, easy to work with, and provides a positive experience overall."
"Exceptionally bright and all over the detail of any case. She has great judgement and is absolutely who I want in my corner."
"She has superb judgement and is good at reading judges. One of the top silks at the media Bar."
"An extremely clear and strategic thinker. She has excellent judgement and does not miss a point.” “Intelligent, collaborative and thoughtful. We like her understated but confident manner.” “She gives superb and reasoned advice to clients and has a particular strength in cases with a data protection element."
"She is super bright, lovely to work with and a go-to for media and tech clients.” “She always knows what to say to advance her client’s interest.” “She is a phenomenal mix of attention to detail and approachability."
"A highly intelligent and adept barrister. She has incredible attention to detail and is very confident on her feet and easy to work with and is wonderful with clients."
"An outstanding advocate who continues to impress. Superb, incredibly bright and simply does not miss a beat."
"Brilliant lawyer and strategist. Doggedly determined. A charming advocacy style. Great team player and good fun to work with."
"She’s extremely knowledgeable, wonderful with the client, and someone who instils a great deal of confidence.” “Extremely easy to work with, and very on top of how the media operate."
"She knows her way round all the intricacies of media law.” “She is extremely thorough and thinks of everything. Considered and effective."
"Enjoys an excellent reputation as an intelligent advocate capable of handling the most nuanced arguments in information law."
"Her reputation as the top junior at the Defamation Bar was fully merited, and has now been recognised with her appointment as a QC this year. She is clever, hard-working and calm, and has extremely good tactical awareness and judgement."
"She is super brainy and a very pragmatic adviser. She has a great sense of what the client needs and completely understands the law and its complexities."