JK Rowling wins breach of confidence damages

JK Rowling has won damages for breach of confidence from Soho law firm Russells, after it accidentally unmasked her as the crime writer 'Robert Galbraith', triggering a boom in sales of the novel 'The Cuckoo's Calling'.

The firm said at the time that it apologised 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".

Callegari then tweeted the information in an exchange with a Sunday Times journalist and it ended up on the front page. The SRA said it was "aware of the issue" and that firms involved in breaches of confidentiality of this kind were under a duty to report it to the regulator.

A spokesman for Russells said the firm had reported the matter to the regulator itself and the SRA was "doing what the SRA does".

In a statement in open court before Mr Justice Tugendhat, JK Rowling's solicitor, Jenny Afia, partner and head of talent at Schillings, said the writer was "angry and distressed that her confidences had been betrayed and this was very much aggravated by repeated speculation that the leak had, in fact, been a carefully co-ordinated publicity stunt by her, her agent and her publishers designed to increase sales".

Afia said her client had been "left dismayed and distressed by such a fundamental breach of trust". However, she said Russells had issued an apology promptly and by way of damages, agreed to make a "substantial donation" to the The Soldier's Charity, formerly the Army Benevolent Fund as well as paying the author's legal costs.

Counsel for Russells said the firm offered its "sincere apologies to the claimant for breach of the claimant's confidence".

It warranted that the information about the pseudonym was the only confidential information revealed to a third party and undertook not to disclose further information about her

In a press statement this morning, JK Rowling announced that worldwide royalties from The Cuckoo's Calling for the next three years would also be donated to The Soldier's Charity.

The author said payment of royalties to the charity would start from the day Robert Galbraith's true identity became known.

Rowling added: "I always intended to give The Soldiers' Charity a donation out of Robert's royalties, but I had not anticipated him making the bestseller list a mere three months after publication (indeed, I had not counted on him ever being there!)."