LAWYER IN THE NEWS

Who? Gordon Williams, 38-year-old head of litigation at London-based, seven-partner niche music and entertainment firm Lee & Thompson.Why is he in the news? Represented...Who? Gordon Williams, 38-year-old head of litigation at London-based, seven-partner niche music and entertainment firm Lee & Thompson.Why is he in the news? Represented the husband and wife team David and Helen Balfe, who originally signed up the rock group Blur to their record label Food Records, and this week won a 250,000 royalties claim in the High Court against EMI Records.

Mr and Mrs Balfe sold their label to EMI in 1994 in a deal that included the royalties from the first two albums by each Food artist released after the sale.

In the case of Blur, the bands second album was only released in Japan.

The Balfes successfully argued that they were entitled to royalties for other territories from the third album, 1997s massive selling Blur.

Background: Read Classics at Cambridge 1980-83, followed by the common professional examination and Law Society finals at the Chancery Lane branch of the College of Law in 1986-87.

He qualified with Compton Carr in 1989 as a specialist entertainment litigator; he was made a partner in 1993.

He moved to Teacher Stern Selby as a partner in 1996, and to Lee & Thompson as head of litigation in 1997.Route to the case: Lee & Thompson is a leading music and entertainment firm and so the case was referred to us as specialists.Thoughts on the case: Procedurally, the case was a one-off, dealing as it did with the proper construction of a rather convoluted royalty provision in an agreement for the sale of a record company.

However, it was the type of case in which the client was almost totally reliant on your advice, so it was gratifying when, of the possible interpretations, the judge decided on the one that I had advocated.

A Blur album was at the heart of the dispute, and one of my clients was a member of the band Teardrop Explodes [David Balfe was on the keyboards], and, as I am a fan of both, it added an extra element of interest.Dealing with the media: In specialist entertainment litigation, much of what I do has the potential for media interest, and dealing with that interest is an important part of the job.

For example, the firms clients include the Spice Girls and David and Victoria Beckham, who obviously generate a huge amount of publicity.

This case, by comparison, simply involved responding to reporters enquiries, and so was one of the more pleasurable encounters.Victoria MacCallum