Lawyer in the news

Who? Naynesh Desai, 41-year-old partner specialising in commercial property and sports law at central London firm Meer Case & Desai.

Why is he in the news? Represents former England cricketer Ian Botham, who recently received a substantial settlement from the owners of Guinness for the use of his image in an advertisement without his consent.

During the World Cup, the stout manufacturer ran adverts featuring Botham's Ashes-winning performance in 1981, which, he argued, suggested he endorsed the product.

Background: Degree in politics from University of East Anglia in Norwich 1978-81, followed by CPE and Law Society finals from the College of Law at Lancaster Gate (1981-83) in London.

Qualified with Wembley firm Suchak & Co (now dissolved) in 1986, before joining Meer Case & Desai in that year as a junior partner.

Route to the case: 'I met Mr Botham at a charity golf tournament in 1994, and we have been friends ever since.

I've represented him since his libel trial against Imran Khan in 1996.'

Thoughts on the case: 'This case will make companies look very carefully at the way they use photographs of famous people.

If they seem to suggest the celebrity is endorsing the product, this will result in not only a loss of future income for the person in question - as it will probably deter other advertisers from approaching them - but it will also impact on their existing advertisement deals, because their current sponsors will not be happy to see another company using their image free of charge.

Sportsmen are more and more realising the importance of image protection, and many are following the example of the US and having separate "image rights" clauses built into their contracts.'

Dealing with the media: 'I have represented many cricketers, such as Devon Malcolm, Mark Ramprakash and Allan Lamb, so I frequently deal with the media - although it tends to be sporting correspondents rather than news reporters.

I find that if you tell them what you can and try to help as much as possible, then they treat you well.

The problems only come when they suspect you of withholding something from them.'