Nigel is Carter-Ruck’s Managing Partner and Head of the firm’s Defamation and Media Law department.  His practice encompasses reputation, media and privacy and commercial litigation.

Reputation, Media and Privacy

Nigel is a leader in this field. He is ranked as one of only three Star individuals in the Defamation and Reputation Management section of Chambers and Partners Client’s Guide to Solicitors

Nigel has secured numerous apologies for clients on newspaper front pages, and on television and radio, many settlements involving damages in six figures, and substantial awards at trial, including the highest ever defamation award to a company.

Nigel has obtained many injunctions – including in the leading case PJS v News Group Newspapers – restraining infringement of his clients’ privacy by the press or former associates. He has prevented the publication of many articles about clients, often by means of a phone call or letter.

Nigel has also acted for many clients who were to be featured on TV news documentaries like Panorama and Dispatches, securing either their complete removal from the programme or the removal of defamatory allegations.

Nigel has worked on four Law Society Committees looking into reforms to libel practice, privacy law and civil procedure. He has spoken on three occasions at the Oxford Union Debating Society on libel and privacy and chairs the annual White Paper defamation and privacy conference.

Commercial Litigation

Nigel has acted in numerous actions for breach of contract, professional negligence, financial mis-selling, breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty winning tens of millions of pounds for clients in such cases over the last few years.

Nigel has successfully sued banks, pension advisers, and financial advisers in many cases where the clients required a safe or cautious investment but lost money.

Nigel has also obtained injunctions for clients against former employees acting in breach of restrictive covenants or who have used confidential information taken from former employers in setting up their own businesses or working for competitors.

Business Ambassador

Nigel is a Business Ambassador for Meningitis Now.

Nigel is one of only three Star individuals for Defamation and Reputation Management in Chambers 2025. He is also featured in the Legal 500‘s Hall of Fame, which highlights individuals who have received constant praise from their clients for continued excellence in this practice area. Spear’s 500 highlight Nigel as a ‘Top Flight’ Reputation & Privacy Lawyer

  • Legal 500 2025 praise Nigel as being ‘a legendary solicitor who has an impressive track record in securing public apologies, injunctions, and removals of defamatory content for his clients’.  They also commend him for his ‘excellent client care that is second to none. The perfect combination of very high-quality legal advice and brilliant tactical advice.’
  • Chambers 2025 sources highlight that he ‘certainly deserves to be recognised as a star and is a great strategist and works tirelessly for his clients.’ Chambers praise Nigel for his ‘wealth of experience advising high-profile individuals and corporate clients on defamation and privacy issues.’
  • Chambers HNW 2024 sources report that ‘Nigel is exceptional and has a huge high net worth and celebrity clientele. He’s very charming – an iron fist in a velvet glove. He is not overly aggressive but focuses on the core issues….’ [and] ‘is one of the big guns in this practice area. He’s got an old-school charm about him.’
  • Chambers 2023 report ‘Nigel’s knowledge of defamation and privacy law is all but unparalleled and that [he] has immense experience in defamation and is an excellent strategist and reassuring for clients.’ He is also praised as being ‘an outstanding and well-respected practitioner.’ Chambers also report that ‘Nigel has a wealth of experience advising high-profile individuals and corporate clients on defamation and privacy issues’
  • Chambers HNW report that Nigel ‘enjoys an excellent reputation in the market, advising HNWIs in critical reputational matters’
  • Nigel was a finalist in the 2023 Spear’s Awards  for ‘Lawyer of the Year – Reputation’, having won in 2018
  • 2023 Spear’s Reputation Management Index  Nigel is recommended as a ‘Top Flight’ Reputation & Privacy Lawyer
  • Nigel is featured in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Reputation Management
  • Legal 500 2023 report that Nigel has ‘a formidable record of securing front page apologies by major newspapers and injunctions on defamatory publications’ and ‘seeks innovative solutions to problems, and supports clients at every stage. Quite simply – [he] is a hero in [his] field’ and ‘is a master strategist and canny negotiator, well able to take the flak his high profile clients generate’
  • Chambers 2022 report ‘Nigel is a brilliant tactician and strategist…tenacious on getting the best results for clients’
  • Chambers HNW 2022 commentators report ‘[Nigel’s] ability to assess a case, identify a strategy and implement its execution is simply unparalleled. He is simply the best in the business – wise, charming and extremely confident.’ ‘There are very few lawyers as good and as experienced as Nigel. His client-handling skills are first-class’
  • Legal 500 reports that ‘Nigel’s knowledge of the field is second to none… he is pleasant and approachable despite his status within the sector.‘
    Legal 500 sources say ‘Nigel is the doyen of the reputational management, media and privacy fields… Masterful – completely unmatched in his tactical astuteness, expertise and strategic thinking’
  • Chambers 2021 report ‘He is one of the best defamation lawyers going… His experience and knowledge on this subject are second to none… The doyen of the legal profession’
  • Spears Reputation Management Index 2021 – Nigel is featured in the Top 5 of The Best Reputation Lawyers and highlighted as a ‘tactical media litigator’
  • Nigel is highlighted as a leading individual in the Legal 500 2020  Hall of Fame
  • Chambers 2020 says ‘He’s one of the best media law litigators in London, without question. He’s strategically second to none’
  • Legal 500 2020 said ‘Nigel Tait has extensive legal knowledge coupled with astute tactical sense… [and] is hugely experienced, able, likeable and savvy.’
  • Listed in the Spears Wealth 500 2020 Directory
  • He has been described in recent entries as the ‘formidable’ Nigel Tait who continues to be revered as a ‘fearless litigator’ and ‘master tactician’. Other recent entries describe Nigel as: ‘held in the highest esteem by market observers, eliciting unanimous market praise’. Commentators consider him to be ‘incredibly experienced’ and ‘fearsome in his reputation.’ (Chambers 2019)
  • The 2019 edition of Chambers HNW reports that Nigel Tait is seen as ‘a figurehead in this area’ and ‘certainly a name that attracts the wealthiest and most high-profile high net worth clients.’ His vaunted status in the market for his track record handling defamation and privacy issues is recognised, with one senior barrister enthusing that ‘he is a phenomenal lawyer who has occupied this niche ground for a long time’
  • Chambers HNW 2019 reports that fellow defamation lawyers comment ‘he is a very high-profile figure in this world…he has acted for some of the biggest celebrities and businessmen over the years and has had some huge successes representing them.’
  • Described by Commercial Lawyer as ‘efficient, proficient and one of the most experienced in the business’
  • In November 2018 Nigel was named Lawyer of the Year for Reputation and Defamation at the prestigious Spear’s Wealth Management Awards in recognition for his ‘outstanding service, innovation, quality of service and client feedback’
  • ‘I can only imagine when a competitor realises he is on the other side they groan at the oncoming legal powerhouse that is Nigel Tait. ‘…he continues to dominate the playing field as the number-one go-to guy if you are serious about winning.’ (Chambers HNW 2018)
  • ‘Is absolutely legendary in this field, and everyone knows it.’ (Chambers HNW 2018)
  • ‘Legend in his own lifetime’, Nigel attracts numerous accolades for the depth of his expertise in the field of libel and strong track record in successfully securing privacy injunctions. One source says he is ‘an outstanding figure who is perfect when a degree of aggression is required.’ (Chambers 2017)
  • Chambers report Nigel is ‘the ultimate litigation machine’ for media litigation and reputation management. (Chambers HNW 2017)
  • ‘The powerhouse to call in any media-related crisis’ who ‘regularly puts clients at ease with his shrewd, pragmatic advice and is an exceptional, tenacious and clever practitioner’. (Legal 500, 2017)
  • Nigel is ‘calm but clinical’ and widely considered by market sources to be ‘one of the best in the business’ and ‘a guru in the field’, whilst others describe him as ‘masterful in his management of litigation’. He is a deeply experienced practitioner who continues to advise a wide variety of public figures on defamation matters. (Chambers 2016)
  • Clients identify Nigel as ‘pre-eminent in his field but also a luminary, in that he forecasts the process and direction in which the litigation is going to go’. (Chambers 2015)
  • Nigel is a ‘master tactician’ who is ‘pre-eminent in his field’. ‘His real strength is in his strategy and tactics – he understands the weaknesses of the other side’. ‘He is extremely tough to face – you really have to up your game’. (Chambers 2014)
  • ‘Nigel is a very sound counsel, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, no media attack he hasn’t encountered and neutralised’. There is ‘not much you can say about him which hasn’t already been said; you don’t get any better than Nigel’. He ‘impresses with his innovative and creative approach but the other major weapon in his armoury is quite simply his experience’. (Chambers 2013)
  • Nigel is ‘absolutely brilliant’ and ‘first rate, with extremely good judgement’. He ‘drives a case forward until the other side flinches’. (Chambers 2012)
  • Nigel is a ‘really brilliant tactician who keeps his objectivity’ clients affirm. (Chambers 2011)
  • Nigel receives widespread praise for his practice: ‘his experience makes you feel incredibly safe’. (Chambers 2010)
  • He is a ‘fearless litigator and brilliant tactician’ who ‘adds an enormous value to the libel field with his superb judgement and genuine charm’. (Chambers 2009)
  • Nigel is ‘an amazing solicitor’, ‘pre-eminent in his field of expertise’, ‘always tough when fighting for us’, ‘tenacious and astute’ and ‘always has his finger on the pulse’. (Chambers 2008)
  • Nigel is listed as a leading individual in the fields of reputation management and defamation and privacy in the Legal 500. The 2016 Guide to the Legal 500 calls Nigel a ‘brilliant litigator’ while the 2015 Guide describes him as a ‘guru’ who is ‘client friendly and full of good ideas’. The 2014 Guide states, ‘Nigel Tait writes a superb letter and is fearless, but has his feet firmly on the ground’ and the 2013 Guide also ranked Nigel as a leading individual, describing him as ‘charismatic’ with ‘natural gravitas without pomposity’

Nigel is one of the most experienced reputation and media lawyers in the United Kingdom.

  • Won a large number of very substantial awards of damages and prominent apologies for clients for defamation and breaches of privacy
  • Secured the highest ever damages award to a company for defamation
  • Won the contested privacy injunction in the leading celebrity case of PJS v News Group Newspapers a case that was vigorously contested all the way to the Supreme Court
  • Notable clients include a raft of businesses – including companies and funds – and high profile individuals
  • Clients and former clients include retailer Tesco, a major oil company, corporations in the energy, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and consumer industries, numerous hedge fund owners, and public figures including Sir Elton John, Simon Cowell, Bryan Adams, Liam Gallagher, James Blunt, Frank Warren and Frank Bruno

Nigel has worked on four Law Society Committees looking into reforms to libel practice, privacy law and civil procedure. He has spoken on three occasions at the Oxford Union Debating Society on libel and privacy and chairs the annual White Paper defamation and privacy conference.