Worse? What could be worse? Well, losing your medical insurance and ending up in the hospital, for one. In the years since this web site first put up a "Quick Tips" page on libel and slander, we've gotten thousands of emails from people asking for legal advice.

The stories are pretty horrible, and they don't just happen to the unlucky. We've heard from corporate executives who have been reduced to convenience store checking, young women in high school being slandered online by boys they refused, people denied promotions because someone else was after the same job, people in small towns who finally left town as the only choice left, ruined businesses and professional reputations, and – still the one that bothers us most – people who can't even afford medical insurance anymore.

It's easy to laugh off slander at first. "No one will believe that," we think. "Only idiots would believe that," we tell ourselves. In fact, that's what we here at the web site did think, until we started reading the emails. Then we realized that a lot of slanderers keep at it, year after year; you become a hobby to them. Twenty years ago they would spread rumors that you were an embezzler; nowadays they spread rumors that you're a racist or a child molester.

For a long time we recommended Bruce Sanford's Synopsis of Libel and Privacy. A very good book, if hard to find. But in the end we faced up to the fact that it's for newspaper reporters, not the average person. Thanks to reader feedback, we asked the author of Dancing With Lawyers to write Fighting Slander, a plain-English guide to defending yourself against defamation. Unlike the expensive lawyers' manuals that are about rich publishers' worries, this guide deals with the defamation ordinary people and businesses face: slander in the workplace, from former bosses, ex-spouses, competitors, and other situations found in daily life – including Internet libel, and defamation by business competitors.

More and more people are falling victim to slander and libel as we move into the information age. Most opt for one of two solutions: 1) Do nothing and suffer. 2) Write a $10,000 retainer check to their favorite lawyer. The first strategy always fails, and – all too often – the second strategy does no better.

The guide is applicable in all 50 states. Because most slander and libel law is a result of Federal appeals court decisions, or the U.S. Supreme Court, it applies across the country.

What The Readers Say

"You guys have written an EXCELLENT guide. Thank you. It's beautifully written, and perfect for a lay-person." – David C. Lowell, West Milford, New Jersey

" I can't thank you enough for such wonderful, fast, and hassle-free service." – Albert W. Weggeman, Green Valley, Arizona

"It was well worth the price. I wrote a letter to the judge using some really profound language I took from the guide, and the judge decided in my favor. So I want to say thanks. I got the result I wanted!" – Kathleen Diamond, Bay Shore, New York

Our Guarantee
If you are not satisfied with the guide, you may return it for a full refund, no questions asked. If you lose the file – computer crash, whatever – anytime in the next year, we will replace it at no charge. (Our privacy policy is short: we don't sell information, and never have.)

Fighting Slander - Personal Edition – a 66 page guide in PDF format. $19.95.    (A lot of research has gone into this guide. It would cost you several thousand dollars to reproduce it – or get it from an expensive libel lawyer. Table of contents at the bottom of this page.)

Fighting Slander - Business Edition – a 73 page guide in PDF format. $24.95.    This contains all the material in the personal edition, plus additional material – not listed in the table of contents below – about the particular problems businesses and organizations face with media exposure, competitors' slander, and whispering campaigns. It may also be useful for public figures, or those in the news a lot.

Fighting Slander Table of Contents
Third Edition, updated and expanded.