Law Firm Pays Up Over JK Rowling Leak

The law firm whose partner spilled the beans on JK Rowling's crime-writing pseudonym has agreed to pay damages, after the writer took the lawyer and his friend, who spilled the beans even further, to court. Russells Solicitors will pay Rowling's legal costs and make a donation to the Soldiers' Charity, reports the BBC. Though Rowling didn't appear in court, her lawyer told the judge she "has been left dismayed and distressed by such a fundamental betrayal of trust," reports the Telegraph. In fairness, notes the BBC, she was also left even richer than before: the book, The Cuckoo's Calling, went from having sold 1,500 copies to a No. 1 seller on Amazon within hours of the news leaking. Rowling chose Soldiers' Charity "partly as a thank you to the army people" who aided her research for the book. (More JK Rowling stories.)