Who? John Halford, 37-year-old assistant solicitor at London firm Bindman & Partners and specialist in public law and human rights.

Why is he in the news? Acts for Jane Laporte, one of a group of protesters who took their case to the Court of Appeal after police prevented them from conducting a demonstration against the war in Iraq at an airbase at Fairford. The court ruled last week that the police were right to stop the three coachloads of protesters, but that they acted unlawfully in effectively detaining the protesters as prisoners for more than two hours by forcing the coaches back to London. The police cars surrounding the coaches did not allow the protesters to stop, ignoring signs put in the windows by passengers indicating that they needed to stop and use toilet facilities.

 
 
 
John Halford
Bindman & Partners

Background: LLB at Essex University, graduating in 1988, then Law Society finals at Chester College of Law. Articles with Humberside Law Centre, qualifying in 1996, moving to the Public Law Project in London in 1998. Joined Bindmans in 2003.

Route to the case: A group of the protesters approached the firm to see what legal action could be taken almost immediately afterwards - they were very angry and frustrated.

Thoughts on the case: 'The first element of the judgment, which was about the detention of protesters using common law police powers, is very important because it has become an increasingly common tactic by police. The Court of Appeal said that detention of protesters could only be justified in the most extreme circumstances - that will be significant for the ongoing litigation over May Day protesters. We lost on the second element, which was about using the common law powers to stop a group of people from protesting, on the basis that a minority of members of the group may cause trouble. We think the court's argument was questionable, and the demonstrators are considering an appeal to the House of Lords or the European Court of Human Rights.'

Dealing with the media: 'Media interest has been encouraged by the firm and the client, because it was important to get the maximum publicity. This has been the most high- profile case I have done - I have been interviewed by all the TV news channels and was interviewed in the studio for Channel Four News. You have to be able to present complex issues in a clear and crisp way and explain the ramifications behind the case being litigated.'