In article , June Hughes
wrote:

I am unsure as to the ins
and outs of the laws of libel regarding email but am very unhappy about
what appear to be several people - mainly ladies - with too much time on
their hands writing derogatory things about me behind my back. That is
not what urg is about. If I find out the contents of these emails I
shall vigorously pursue whatever legal course of action is available to
me if they are in any way libellous, which if the person advising me of
them is correct, I think they may be.

It is certainly possible to sue for e-mail libel (Norwich Union were
famously fined £450,000 a few years ago because an employee libelled a
competitor in an e-mail) -- but your adviser should be ditched if
he/she is telling you to go ahead and sue. The cost of bringing a libel
case would be huge and you have no guarantee of success, or that the
defendant can afford to pay your costs, let alone the damages (small as
they would be unless you are Norwich Union).