Helen Morris representing Mark Lester

Who? Helen Morris, 34, solicitor at media law firm David Price Solicitors & Advocates, London.

Why is she in the news? She is representing Mark Lester, the child star of the 1968 film version of the musical Oliver!. He is seeking damages from Associated Newspapers for libel and invasion of privacy.

A Daily Mail article falsely accused him of violently assaulting his ex-wife during their relationship.

The story also referred to an extract from a confidential letter prepared for court proceedings. Lester said he had a reasonable expectation that the information in the letter would be kept confidential. The Daily Mail has made an offer of amends accepting that the allegations were untrue and the parties are negotiating damages and costs.

Route to the case: The firm was recommended to Lester by a former in-house newspaper lawyer.

Thoughts on the case: ‘The allegations made were serious and distressing for my client.’ Offers of amends are ‘increasingly relied upon by newspapers to extricate themselves from litigation’.

Dealing with the media: ‘Our firm handles high-profile cases. We regularly deal with people who have been caught up in stories in the media.’

Career low point: Losing a libel case at first instance against the News of the World on behalf of one of the people accused in the alleged Beckham kidnapping plot. ‘We subsequently got permission to appeal. Shortly before it was due to be heard in the Court of Appeal, the News of the World apologised and accepted that our client did not have any involvement.’

Career high point: ‘When I was at university I studied Middle Eastern history and Hebrew. After becoming a trainee I worked on Maccaba v Lichtenstein. It was the longest slander trial in English legal history and I ran the litigation. The [alleged] slanders were in Hebrew so there was a convergence of my interests.’

Why become a solicitor? ‘For me it was the media side of things as much as the law. I worked for The Guardian when I first left university and I worked for Warner Brothers during my LPC.’