Lawyer in the news

Who? Craig Porter, 32-year-old assistant at the Manchester office of Russell Jones & Walker.Why is he in the news? Represented Andy Dibble, a goalkeeper who was last week awarded 20,000 damages from Carmarthen Council after suffering horrific burns from football pitch markings made of hydrated lime when he dived to make a save.

Mr Dibble, formerly a Welsh international footballer, was scarred for life and had to undergo extensive skin graft surgery after the incident in 1998.

He now plays for First Division Stockport County.Background: Geography degree at Keele University 1988-91, followed by the CPE at Staffordshire University in 1993 and the LPC at Chester College of Law.

He qualified with Donald Race Newton in 1997, and moved to Russell Jones & Walker in 1999.Route to the case: 'We act for the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and they referred the case to us.'Thoughts on the case: 'The incident completely changed the course of my client's career - he was intending to move to America and work there, which would have been a very lucrative move.

'But instead of this, he was forced to stay in this country and had to scrabble for work when he recovered from his horrific injuries.

He had to undergo very painful surgery and, as the story about his injuries had been widely covered in the press, it affected his bargaining powers.

'After the incident, the Football Association instructed clubs not to use hydrated lime as pitch markings, so the case has made a difference.'Dealing with the media: 'This is my first experience, and it's been quite a shock - at one point I was being called by journalists almost daily.

They occasionally get things wrong and I've been misquoted a couple of times.

My client and I decided to wait until the end of the case before we released a full statement to the media.'Victoria MacCallum