United States: Libel & Defamation

Mayer Brown LLP, together with ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, filed a federal civil rights brief with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights against the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District in Massachusetts.

The 1964 Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan, which requires public officials to prove "actual malice" to succeed on a defamation claim, was a watershed moment in defamation law. Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts was decided just a few years later and extended the same protection to "public figures" in addition to public officials.

A common part of managing and running a business is encountering legal disputes. One sector of business disputes business owners, executives, and professionals should be familiar with are business torts, or legal wrongs caused by or to a business as a result of unlawful activities.