Amber Melville-Brown
Secretary Laura Gosheff
Amber is a partner in our media and reputation team.
She is a media law specialist operating wherever there is an interface, be it welcome or unwanted, with third parties including the media, other organisations and individuals. She advises our clients in respect of reputation, brand, communication and information issues.Amber is experienced in defamation, privacy, breach of confidence, data protection (including ‘the right to be forgotten' and voicemail interception (i.e. phone-hacking)), harassment and blackmail law, and she uses her legal acumen in conjunction with industry knowledge and experience in dealing with a range of publication, messaging and crisis management issues for our clients.
During her time as deputy head of the litigation and arbitration team, Amber assisted in the management of the department through its most significant period of growth, as it broadened its international reach and range of services. With growth now including the expansion of the media and reputation offering in America, Amber operates predominantly out of the New York office.
Amber's expertise extends well beyond black-letter law and incorporates a more holistic approach, factoring in all aspects of communications and messaging between her clients and their employees, shareholders, customers, family members and associates and other third parties, to the public at large and via the media. Alongside the firm's team, she provides a 24/7 crisis management service.
Amber studied modern languages at University College London, and English law at the College (now University) of Law in London before practicing as a media specialist lawyer for more than twenty years. However, the firm recognized the increasingly global nature of its client base and the global issues they face, and in 2018, Amber obtained an American LLM. focusing on media law from Fordham University, New York, graduating in the top 10% of her law school, magna cum laude. In Spring 2019 she was admitted as a New York attorney, having qualified at the New York Bar. Amber also attended Cornell University via eCornell, and is now certified by Cornell in PR Strategy. Core elements of the certification include Crisis Communication Planning and Communicating Planning for Change, Communicating with the Media, Strategic PR Planning and Hiring and Working with PR Agencies. This respected certification adds to Amber’s many years spent “at the coal face”, giving clients the confidence that Amber has the practical experience, and training in this area.
Amber is uniquely placed as a dual-qualified media-specialist and crisis management lawyer to offer our global clients a worldwide service.
Amber's clients cover the gamut of society, including stars of the screen, stadium and stage, heads of state, heads of business and heads of families, public figures, private individuals charities and businesses.
Amber is a prolific writer and commentator on media law and related issues: she was one of the longest standing columnists for the English professional magazine, the Law Society Gazette, and frequently contributes to the mainstream media including respected British-based publications including The Times and The Guardian, American publishers including Newsweek and USA Today, and she is a regular contributor to the respected New York State Bar Association, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal.
Amber taught media law at the College of Law in London and was a visiting lecturer at the London School of Economics. In 2022, Amber was globally recognized by Chambers as one of the leading lawyers in the Defamation/ Reputation Management category and has been ranked Band 1 in the US and has also been acknowledged for her expertise based abroad in the UK. Within those directories, she has been referred to as: "very supportive and extremely dedicated"; knowing " the business inside out"; “friendly and welcoming”, “incredibly sensible and practical”, “intelligent, solid, sensible and practical”, and “absolutely outstanding”.
Amber heads the firm's Giving Back branch, leading our global charitable initiatives.
Recent recognition
Me in a minute
Words have been the mainstay of my professional life
'Words, words, words,' answers Shakespeare's Hamlet when asked what it is that he is reading. Words have been the mainstay of my professional life: words that hurt and defame my clients; words to provide an antidote to the poison administered by an attacker, in print or online; words to litigate and negotiate; words to communicate to the public and to teach to others, my passion for media law.
Robert Browning's words have also stayed with me throughout my professional - and personal - life: 'Ah, but a man's aim should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for'. We must always strive to achieve the best, and more, for ourselves and, in my professional life, for my clients. I am deeply aware that in my line of business - where a client may be facing an unwanted expose in a national newspaper, an anonymous attack on social media, or battling against a campaign of harassment or blackmail - that it is a very stressful and distressing time, and while the legal problem must be solved, a human must at the same time be saved. I am enormously proud therefore, that clients routinely commend me for easing the burden in such potentially stressful times, for providing sensible, practical advice.
In my role as the firm's corporate social responsibility partner, I have instigated a system across the firm of charity of the year best to be able to focus the initiatives of the firm's office to various charities chosen by our offices (London/Europe; USA; and Asia). During my time, my fundraising activities have included confining myself to a wheelchair to gain first-hand experience of living with a major disability for 48 hours and was part of the firms 'Snowdon Push Challenge' team consisting of 13 Withers employees who braved Mount Snowdon having previously taken part in the gruelling 'Three Peaks' challenge.
In addition to my private practice, I have taught media law at the College of Law - which gave me such a good start in my legal career - writing and teaching its professional skills media course and becoming its external examiner for media; I have also taught media law at the London School of Economics.
I write regularly on media law issues, and this is a great passion of mine seeking to show the human face of we lawyers to the public and to present our field in an interesting, educational and entertaining way. So we come back full circle to my love of 'words, words, words' which I suspect will always remain.