Lawyer In The News

Who? Jan Levinson, 35-year-old sports and commercial litigation partner at Beachcroft Wansbroughs in Manchester.

Why is he in the news? Achieved an undisclosed settlement this week - reported to be more than 1 million - for former Manchester United and Reading footballer Chris Casper.

Mr Casper claimed damages for loss of future earnings against Cardiff City football club and its former player Richard Carpenter.

If the reports are true, that makes it the most expensive football tackle in history.

Background: LLB at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1986-89, then Law Society finals at Chester College of Law.

Trainee at Hammonds in Leeds, qualifying in 1992 and becoming partner in 1999.

Moved to Beachcroft Wansbroughs in 2003 as a partner.

Route to the case: Previously achieved a 950,000 settlement - the biggest ever at the time - for a tackle on Bradford City player Gordon Watson in 1997 by Huddersfield Town's Kevin Gray.

Mr Casper approached him on the basis of this.

Thoughts on the case: 'It is sad when any promising young person loses their livelihood, but as footballers have relatively short careers, it is potentially even more so.

I was delighted by the outcome.

On a personal level, the case was extremely interesting to me as a Manchester United fan, as I had the opportunity to take witness statements [about Mr Casper's potential career] from Sir Alex Ferguson and United players.

A case of this nature can be quite complex but - to use a footballing phrase - we got the right result.'

Dealing with the media: 'I have done TV, radio and newspaper interviews on the case.

When you are dealing with high-profile sports cases, high media interest comes with the territory.

The main thing is to get clearance from the client on what approach to take - and don't let the journalists dictate the agenda.'

Rachel Rothwell