Defamation and Not-for-profits

About this event

Your reputation is one of your most valuable assets. Whether it's trust from your members, your donors, or the wider community - once it's damaged, it is difficult to rebuild. But defamation risk cuts both ways: your organisation could be the target of harmful statements, or it could inadvertently expose itself to a claim through its own communications.

This session, delivered by MinterEllison in partnership with Justice Connect, is designed specifically for the not-for-profit sector. It uses real-world examples based on common questions from not-for-profits, so you’ll leave with practical tips you can use in your day-to-day work.

MinterEllison will cover:

• What is defamation?
• Who can sue?
• Key defences
• How to manage defamation risks in tricky situations, including:
  • Community and member disputes – what can you do if someone is making allegations?
  • Complaints – what can your board say, and who can you say it to?
  • Social media – what should you be aware of when posting online, or managing comments on your pages? 
  • Employees and volunteers – what happens if someone posts something risky online?
  • Media enquiries – how can you respond safely to the media?

You'll receive:

• 75 minutes of plain-language training from a lawyer
• Copy of webinar recording (accessible for 3 months) and slide handout
• Information on further resources and support

Who should attend:

CEOs, senior managers, communications staff, and Board members in not-for-profit organisations.

Presenters:

Dean Levitan - Partner - MinterEllison

Dean specialises in high-stakes litigation on behalf of Australian and international media publishers in complex matters including defamation, privacy and contempt of court. He also provides pre-publication advice to local and international publishers and broadcasters, and reputation-related risk management advice to government agencies, ASX companies, and prominent public figures. Dean is a Board Member of the Melbourne Press Club and a committee member of the Communications and Media Law Association.

Dean led the successful defence on behalf of Nine and its investigative journalists in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case from commencement in the Federal Court to the appeal to the High Court of Australia. He has led the defence of other media clients including Al Jazeera in defamation proceedings in the Federal Court and has advised Anthropic in relation to defamation matters arising from its AI assistant, Claude, and in relation to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

Tess McGuire - Senior Associate - MinterEllison

Tess is an experienced media and defamation lawyer, working alongside Dean Levitan, who similarly advises on high-profile defamation litigation, and media law issues. She regularly provides pre-publication advice to local and international publishers and broadcasters, including The Age, Crikey, Capital Brief, The New York Times, and Al Jazeera.

Tess was a leading member of the team in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation proceedings. She previously served as Associate to Justice Murphy of the Federal Court of Australia and has lectured in Media Law at Melbourne Law School.