Fine Levied On Lawyer For Revealing Identity Of JK Rowling

Fine Levied On Lawyer For Revealing Identity Of JK Rowling

Chris Gossage, the lawyer who revealed the identity of JK Rowling when the author used the Pseudonym Robert Galbraith in writing a detective novel was fined $1,650. A written warning was also given to the lawyer by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Gossage, a Russells Solicitors partner, leaked the secret to the best friend of his wife. The friend later tweeted the real identity of Galbraith. Russells Solicitors represents the author of the Harry Potter series. Rowling was incensed after finding out that she was revealed to be the author of the novel, “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” by a partner of her law firm.

The book was described to be the debut album fo Galbraith, a retired military policeman.

An apology given by the law firm was accepted by JK Rowling after legal action was taken against Gossage and Judith Callegari. The law firm paid for the legal cost as well as made a sizeable donation to the Soldiers’ Charity, the charity chosen by the author.

The UK legal watchdog released its ruling recently. The ruling gave Gossage a written rebuke as well as ordered him to pay a fine for revealing the confidential information about a client. Rowling enjoyed publishing the novel at this time even though a number of publishers rejected it, which was the same situation when she first had the Harry Potter books published.

Sales of the novel were minimal when it was initially released in April. However, it increased after her identity was revealed. It also sent the book to the top of the list of best-selling novels. Rowling initially revealed last July that she was angry after her trust was misplaced.

The novel was published by Little, Brown. It is about a war veteran who became a private investigator looking into a model’s death. The same company published the first adult novel of JK Rowling in 2012.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Saturday January 04 2014, 6:41 AM EST. Ref: Reuters. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0