Paul Tweed facts for kids

Paul Tweed was born in Northern Ireland in 1955. He is a well-known international lawyer. He has offices in Belfast, Dublin, and London. Paul Tweed is famous for helping people protect their good name. This is called "reputation management." He is also known for handling "defamation" cases. Defamation means saying or writing false things that harm someone's reputation.

Many people say he is one of the best lawyers in the world for these types of cases. He has worked with many famous people. These include actors like Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. He has also helped singers like Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, and Britney Spears. Paul Tweed also works with people from politics, music, movies, and sports.

At first, he mostly took action against traditional news companies. Now, he also works to challenge big social media companies. He believes these companies should have more rules. Many of these companies have their main European offices in Ireland.

Early Life and Education

Paul Tweed was born in Bangor, County Down. This is a town in Northern Ireland. He went to Bangor Grammar School. After that, he studied Law at Queen's University Belfast. He earned his law degree there.

In 1978, he became a solicitor. A solicitor is a type of lawyer who gives legal advice and prepares cases. He joined a law firm called Johnsons that same year. By 1983, he became a partner in the firm. In 2017, Paul Tweed started his own law firm called TWEED. It had offices in Belfast, Dublin, and London. This firm focused on media law and business disputes. In 2020, another company bought TWEED. It was renamed Gateley Tweed.

Famous Cases

Paul Tweed has worked on many important legal cases. One of his first big cases was about libel. Libel is when someone writes something false and damaging about another person. In this case, he represented two senior lawyers. They won £50,000 each in damages.

In 1992, he helped a client win the largest libel award ever in Northern Ireland. This was in the case of Barney Eastwood versus Barry McGuigan. He also helped a politician named Robert McCartney. McCartney received £80,000 in damages before an election in 1997.

Paul Tweed has represented many well-known people. These include:

• Liam Neeson
• Britney Spears
• Jennifer Lopez
• Justin Timberlake
• Nicolas Cage
• Harrison Ford
• Johnny Depp
• Sylvester Stallone

In 2014, he represented Louis Walsh. Louis Walsh is a judge from the TV show X Factor. Walsh won €500,000 from The Sun newspaper. This was because of a false headline they published.

Paul Tweed has also worked for newspapers. These include The Sunday Times and The Irish News. He has also represented journalists. He helped a reporter named Gemma O'Doherty.

He has also been involved in many cases against online book sellers. These cases were about false information published in books.

Media Appearances

Paul Tweed often talks about media law on TV, online, and in newspapers. He has appeared on many news channels. These include the BBC, UTV, Al Jazeera, and Bloomberg News.

A BBC documentary called See You in Court was made about him in 2011. It showed his work helping the magician Uri Geller. He helped Uri Geller in cases against CNN and The Sun.

He has also given talks at famous places. These include the Oxford Union and Feile an Phobail in Belfast. He also speaks to different legal and business groups around the world.

Awards and Groups

Paul Tweed is recognized as one of the best lawyers in his field. He is listed as a top lawyer in the Chambers and Partners guide. This guide lists leading lawyers for defamation, reputation management, and media law.

He has also spoken to important government committees. He talked to the Parliament about new laws for defamation. He also spoke to the Northern Ireland Assembly about the Defamation Act 2013.

He is a member of several important legal groups. These include the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

Publishing

In 2012, Paul Tweed wrote a book. It was called Privacy and Libel Law; The Clash With Press Freedom. He also writes articles for many publications. These include the Huffington Post and The Guardian.