Lawyer in the news
Who: Barry Speker, 54-year-old senior partner of five-partner Newcastle-based firm Samuel Phillips & Co.
Why is he in the news? Represented the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS trust in the recent case involving Maria, the baby born with half a face, whose parents initially refused emergency medical treatment.
Maria, who has the rare medical condition Goldenhar's syndrome, needed a tracheotomy to unblock her airways, but her parents claimed the operation was not necessary and expressed concern at the risks involved.
After an emergency police protection order was granted to stop the parents removing their daughter from hospital, they agreed - after seven hours of deliberations at the High Court - to allow the treatment.
Background: LLB at London University 1965-68 followed by Law Society finals at Liverpool University in 1969.
He qualified in Newcastle with the now dissolved firm Leigh Gold & Co and in 1971 moved to his current firm.
He became senior partner in 1987 and specialises in clinical negligence.
Route to the case: 'I have acted for Newcastle hospitals for a number of years, and was immediately contacted when this issue arose.'
Thoughts on the case: 'The hospital and the parents eventually reached an agreement allowing the treatment to go ahead, which was satisfactory for everyone involved.
The vast majority of clinical negligence cases involving treatment orders are resolved after discussion between the hospital and patient or the patient's parents.
It's a very rare case which has to go to the High Court to get a protection order from a judge, and everyone is very pleased that this seems to be resolved.
As for Maria, she got through the tracheotomy successfully, but will need a number of operations as she grows older.'
Dealing with the media: 'I'm often asked to comment on legal issues for local television and radio stations, but the level of interest in this case was particularly high and often intrusive, such as when a satellite broadcasting van was parked in the grounds of the hospital.
While preserving the confidentiality of many aspects of the case, it was important to ensure that the right version of events was reported, and so the judge involved with the case decided to issue a detailed press release, which seemed to keep the media happy.'
Victoria MacCallum
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