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Profile
Name: Dario Milo
Position: Partner
Office:
Johannesburg
Telephone: +27 11 530 5232
Fax: +27 11 530 6232
Send an email
Dario Milo is a partner in the Dispute Resolution Practice Group at Webber Wentzel.
Dario obtained the degrees of BComm, LLB (with distinction) and LLM in Company law and Constitutional law (with distinction) from the University of the Witwatersrand. After working as an associate in the Media Law department, Dario studied for an LLM degree in Communications Law at University College London, which he obtained with distinction. Thereafter, he read for a PhD degree at University College London. His thesis examined privacy, reputation and freedom of the media in the context of the law of defamation and privacy, with particular emphasis on South African, English and US law.
Whilst in London, Dario also qualified as a solicitor of the High Court of England and Wales, and taught Media and Entertainment Law at the University College London and BPP Professional Education plc.
At Webber Wentzel, Dario specialises in data protection law, privacy law, print and electronic media law, constitutional law and administrative law. He represents major corporations, newspapers, broadcasters and entertainment companies. His recent work includes representing the Independent Newspaper group in its Constitutional Court action to obtain classified documents in the Masetlha v the President of RSA litigation; representing a weekly newspaper in its judicial review of the Public Protector's Oilgate report; representing the world-renowned cartoonist Zapiro and various media groups in defamation litigation brought by the President of the African National Congress, Jacob Zuma; representing the investigative television programme Carte Blanche in various matters including before the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa; representing a leading publisher in its submissions to Parliament on the Protection of Information Bill and the Judicial Service Commission Amendment Bill; representing various media groups in their successful attempt to gain access to the Judicial Service Commission's hearing into complaints made by the Constitutional Court judges and by Judge John Hlophe; representing the Freedom of Expression Institute in its pending review of the decision of ICASA relating to the SABC's blacklisting report; and assisting domestic and international clients with will all aspects of data protection law, including drafting and updating contracts and policies, conducting due diligences on existing contractual arrangements, and litigating in regard to breaches of data protection.
Milo has also written numerous articles in newspapers and legal journals on defamation, privacy and data protection law, and regularly appears as an expert on radio and television in the field of media law. His book entitled Defamation and Free Speech was published by Oxford University Press in 2008. He is also the co-author of the Freedom of Expression chapter in Constitutional Law of South Africa (edited by Stuart Wooolman) and has been commissioned to co-author A Practical Guide to Media Law for Lexis-Nexis Butterworths.
Dario is a visiting associate professor in media law at the University of the Witwatersrand (where he teaches on the LLM in Media Law and in the school of journalism), facilitates courses on Media Law for the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, and is an editorial board member of the Journal of Media Law which is published in the United Kingdom.
Education :
- BComm (University of the Witwatersrand)
- LLB (with distinction) (University of the Witwatersrand)
- LLM (Company law and Constitutional law) (with distinction) (University of the Witwatersrand)
- LLM (with distinction) (Communications Law) (University College London)
- PhD (University College London)
Top matters:
- Acting for Mail & Guardian (M&G) in respect of a ruling that the 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising committee must provide M&G with all tender documents pertaining to contracts awarded for the 2010 Word Cup and 2009 Confederations Cup;
- Acting for M&G in a successful application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act for access to a report commissioned by President Thabo Mbeki relating to Zimbabwe's 2002 presidential elections;
- Acting for a major banking institution in South Africa in conducting a due diligence of all its relevant contracts for purposes of compliance with data protection principles;
- Acting for Avusa Ltd in its submissions before the National Council of Provinces on the Judicial Service Commission Amendment Bill (especially the secrecy of hearings into judicial conduct);
- Acting for Avusa Ltd in its submissions before Parliament on the Protection of Information Bill;
- Acting for Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd in major access to state information case before the Constitutional Court;
- Acting for Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd and the cartoonist Zapiro in litigation brought by ANC President Jacob Zuma for defamation and privacy;
- Acting for the Mail & Guardian Ltd in its application to set aside the Public Protector's Oilgate report;
- Acting for the Sunday World in the urgent applications, including those brought by a prominent football personality to prevent publication of an allegedly defamatory article;
- Acting for Christi van der Westhuizen in her successful application to set aside an urgent application brought by Eugene de Kock to interdict her book White Power;
- Acting for Mail & Guardian Ltd in its application for access to the Khampepe-Moseneke report on the Zimbabwe elections;
- Acting for Sowetan, Sunday World, The Star, Pretoria News, Mail & Guardian and Carte Blanche in providing defamation, privacy and related advice on a weekly basis; and
- Appointed to the Review Panel of the Sunday Times newspaper, to review its systems, policies, procedures and accuracy checks.
Accolades:
- Dario is ranked as a leading lawyer in Media & Broadcasting by Chambers Global 2007, 2008,2009 and 2010;
- Dario has been included in the Expert Guides' The Best of the Best 2009 in his field of Media Law;
- Dario has been nominated by in-house counsel and his peers to appear in the Guide to the World's Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers 2008 as one of the pre-eminent media practitioners in the world;
- Dario is recognised by PLC Which Lawyer? 2008 for his work as a media law practitioner; and
- University College London Scholarship, PhD studies in London.
Contributions to the Profession:
- Visiting associate professor of media law; University of the Witwatersrand;
- Dario is a South African correspondent for Entertainment Law Review, a UK journal;
- Author of Defamation and Freedom of Speech (Oxford University Press; 2008);
- Co-author of chapter on Freedom of Expression in a leading text in constitutional law; and
- Co-author of A Practical Guide to Media Law (Butterworths).
Membership in professional societies:
- Member of the Law Society of England and Wales
- Law Society of the Northern Provinces
Areas of expertise:
- Print and electronic media law
- All aspects of the law relating to entertainment
- Telecommunications and broadcasting regulation
- Data protection and privacy law
- Intellectual property law
- Constitutional law, including free speech law
- Competition law
- Internet and e-commerce law
- Information technology law
Languages:
Recent articles:
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