“To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. I had assumed that I could expect total confidentiality from Russells, a reputable professional firm, and I feel very angry that my trust turned out to be misplaced,” said JK Rowling yesterday after discovering that one of the partners of Soho law firm Russells was to blame for outing her as the author of crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, written under the pseudonym ‘Robert Galbraith’.
To which Russells, demonstrating the esteem in which it holds its celeb clients in relation to its individual lawyers, responded…
“We, Russells Solicitors, apologise unreservedly for the disclosure caused by one of our partners, Chris Gossage, in revealing to his wife’s best friend, Judith Callegari, during a private conversation that the true identity of Robert Galbraith was in fact JK Rowling. Whilst accepting his own culpability, the disclosure was made in confidence to someone he trusted implicitly.”
Can JK Rowling sue for breach of confidentiality? Writing at Jack of Kent, David Allen Green reckons probably not…