We are one of the few law firms in Singapore with a specialised practice in Defamation and Reputation Protection matters. Our Head of the practice group, Mr. Wilbur Lim, is a prominent name in defamation practice and he is the author of leading textbook on defamation to be published in 2026.

Defamation Practice

Practice Group

Mr. Wilbur Lim writes prolifically on defamation laws and he was invited to be the author/editor for the textbook "Halsbury's Laws of Singapore: Defamation (2026 Rev Ed)". The Halsbury's Laws of Singapore is the leading encyclopedia of law and its volumes are widely cited by practitioners and courts. Halsbury’s Laws titles are written by or in consultation with leading lawyers – both practitioners and academics – ensuring the highest quality and dependability.

As the Head of Defamation and Reputation Protection Practice of our firm, Mr. Wilbur Lim handles high profile defamation suits. Further, given his dual portfolio in defamation and construction disputes, our team is uniquely positioned to advise construction companies in defamation claims.

Mr. Wilbur Lim is also expressly mentioned by Legal 500 for his defamation practice in the Asia Pacific Dispute Resolution's rankings.

Streamlined Approach to Enquiries

As our Practice Group handles a high work load of defamation matters, we have developed a streamlined approach towards enquiries.

Upon your enquiry, our administrative team would reach out to you within the same working day to fix a complimentary phone discussion with Mr. Lim for us to craft out the most effective and cost efficient case strategy for you or your business.

A cost proposal would then be provided for the preliminary stages.

Following engagement, we would set up a chat group where more documents and facts could be shared. Thereafter, depending on the urgency of the matter, we would endeavour to finalise the letter of demand or its response within the next three (3) working days.

Knowledge Portal on Defamation Laws

To assist our clients in having a holistic understanding of the laws involved, our Practice Group had also curated a series of articles which cover the essential legal principles involved in a defamation claim. For ease of reference, we set out the summary and accompanying links to the respective articles below.

  1. At the outset, to establish a claim in Defamation, the Claimant would have to prove three essential elements, which are set out in this article.
  2. The Defendant would then have to raise potential defences to the claim. We have prepared a series of articles covering the main defences of (i) justification; (ii) fair comment; and (iii) qualified privilege. The combined article could be accessed via this link.
  3. We had also examined specific principles involved for online defamation, including the relatively wider principle of publication for online articles. For ease of reference, we have also prepared a series of Q&As relating to online defamation. For more context, you may also refer to media interviews of our Head of Practice Group on this issue.
  4. It is also important to consider when an apology or statement given by the Defendant could amount to an admission. We set out our views herein.
  5. For employers, it would be equally pertinent to understand when you would be liable under vicarious liability for a statement made by an employee.
  6. Defamation claims arising from construction or renovation disputes would also warrant a different set of considerations.
  7. In addition to trite legal principles, our lawyers had also written prolifically on other aspects of defamation laws, including but not limited to the Jameel Principle.
  8. Other articles could be found on our defamation knowledge portal.

For enquiries, please contact wilbur.lim@wmhlaw.com.sg or reach us at 6514 6350 / 6514 6351.