Nick McAleenan

Crisis management

Nick works alongside executive and communications teams to manage risk, handle complex situations and respond decisively when crises hit. His approach blends litigation know-how with proactive communications, ensuring that clients stay in control during challenging situations.

Nick acts in disputes involving leading online platforms, traditional broadcasters and newspapers, pressure groups, PLCs and influencers. Nick regularly acts for large organisations as well as private individuals.

Nick has been described in The Legal 500 as “calmness personified” and “a specialist in handling hostile media coverage”.

Reputation 

Nick advises on a wide range of legal issues, including defamation, privacy and harassment law. 

He has successfully acted for victims of harassment, trolling and disinformation. For example, Nick successfully represented the headteacher of a high-performing school in a harassment claim against parents of former pupils.

Nick regularly acts in disputes arising from online and social media publications. He often works on new and emerging legal issues. For example, Nick secured the UK’s first reported settlement relating to a political 'deep fake' and has considerable experience of issues concerning use of facial recognition technology.

Data & information

Nick has extensive experience in handling data breach litigation, contentious freedom of information and subject access requests and ICO investigations. 

He led the UK’s first data breach group action (Various Claimants v Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC) and represented over 10,000 claimants in the landmark Supreme Court litigation.

He also advised on the UK’s first sector-owned data protection Code of Conduct.

Nick joined us in 2022 and works across all our office locations.