Filiz Kiani

Meet Filiz

Filiz Kiani is a senior solicitor at Cohen Davis Solicitors, having joined the firm in 2017. She earned a first-class honours degree and qualified as a solicitor in 2019. Filiz has quickly risen to prominence within the firm, becoming a managing director and a key figure in the firm's leadership.

Areas of Expertise

Filiz specialises in internet and social media law, focusing on defamation, privacy, data protection, and harassment claims. She primarily advises Claimants and is adept at navigating the complexities of civil litigation and online content removal. Her extensive experience includes securing substantial damages, public apologies, and urgent injunctions to protect clients' reputations and privacy.

Filiz is particularly skilled in handling cases involving high-profile online trolling, GDPR compliance, and challenging journalistic exemptions to protect client privacy. Filiz acts for private clients, companies, as well as high-profile individuals, including celebrities, and professionals.

Notable Cases

• Kirat Assi v Simran Bhogal [2021]: Filiz was the lead solicitor in a landmark case involving misuse of private information, harassment, and data protection rights infringement. This case, recognised as one of the longest-running cases of online trolling, earned Filiz the "Lawyer of the week" title by the Law Gazette.
• Rzucek v Vinnicombe [2025] EWHC 403 (KB) and [2026] EWHC 946 (KB): Represented Franklin Rzucek in a High Court claim for online defamation and harassment over content published on YouTube. The defence and counterclaim were struck out, and judgment was entered for the claimant with £40,000 in damages and an injunction.
• Aaronson v Stones [2023] EWHC 2399 (KB): Filiz successfully represented a prominent figure in the adult entertainment industry in a libel claim, securing £110,000 in damages, an injunction, and costs.
• TJM v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police [2022] EWHC 2658 (KB): Represented a Royal Marine in a defamation and privacy claim against a police force which had alleged criminal conduct against him in a report to the Navy. The claim concluded with £67,500 in damages for libel and misuse of private information, and a further £30,000 for false imprisonment, with an apology read in open court.
• Stephen Belafonte v Melanie Brown (Mel B) [2024]: Represented Stephen Belafonte in cross-jurisdictional family proceedings, resulting in the withdrawal of an emergency application and a costs order in his favour. Also acted on the removal of related online defamation and reputational content.
• Belafonte v News Group Newspapers Limited [2026] EWHC 273 (KB): Acting for Stephen Belafonte in a libel claim against the publisher of The Sun. At a preliminary trial of meaning on 11 February 2026, Mrs Justice Collins Rice found the article meant he was guilty of harassing his former wife in the United States, and that there were grounds to suspect him of harassing her during a later visit to this country. The claim continues.
• CWD v Nevitt & Ors [2020] EWHC 1289 (QB): Represented the Claimant in a case involving harassment, defamation, and misuse of private information, successfully settled under intense public and media scrutiny.
• GYH v Persons Unknown [2018] EWHC 121 (QB) – Obtained summary judgment for the Claimant in her claim relating to a campaign of harassment published online, having previously obtained an interim injunction in the same proceedings ([2017] EWHC 3360 (QB)).