I want to go to the press with my family issues. Is it OK to do this?

Before reporting any of your family issues to the press it is essential to seek legal advice from your solicitor.

If you go to the press with your family issues you risk breaching duties of confidence.

These duties can either be implied or express so again, it is very important to speak to a solicitor before going to the press in case you may be breaching any of these duties.

It is also a good idea to talk to your solicitor about what talking to the press could do to your case. If the press choose to publish the information you give them then it could be later brought up in court and read by the judge. Would this make the judge think differently about your case? Would it make him look at your case in a negative light after reading anything published in the press? This all must be considered before you make your decision about talking to the press.

Conversely, it may be helpful that a judge has seen the information about your case published in the press. It could cause him to look at your case in a more positive light than he otherwise would have done without reading the information. Again, this has to be carefully thought about and discussed with your solicitor before any decisions are made.

You also need to make sure that you do not end up having defamation proceedings taking place against you. If you published words or matter in a newspaper or magazine that contained something that was untrue about your partner then this could be defamation.