Who? Christopher Hill, 48-year-old solicitor-advocate and senior partner at Aldershot firm Foster Wells, who specialises in military law.

Why is he in the news? Represented a British soldier who appeared before a court-martial in Germany and pleaded guilty to neglect of duty following the death of a five-year-old girl who was carried away by the ropes of a helium balloon at a military fun day in Germany in 2003. Lance Bombardier Steven Armstrong, of the Royal Artillery Display Troop, was in charge of the balloon, giving rides, when a freak storm hit. Winds of up to 130mph ripped the balloon from its moorings, and one of the ropes became entangled around the child's arm pulling her into the sky. Her body was found two hours later in a field more than 40 miles away. He received a reprimand and the senior officer present, Captain Angus Newby-Grant, who also pleaded guilty to neglect of duty for failing to adequately supervise the event, was demoted for 18 months.


Background: Politics degree at Kent followed by a masters degree in social science at Birmingham before doing the common professional examination while working for the Prosecuting Solicitor's Department of West Midlands County Council. Then Law Society finals at Wolverhampton Polytechnic and articles at Birmingham firm Edge & Ellison, qualifying in 1987 before joining his current firm. He became a partner in 1990 and has been senior partner since 1997.


Route to the case: 'I got this case following a recommendation as I have had a lot of contact with the Royal Artillery.'


Thoughts on the case: 'The military system works slowly and the Judge Advocate was extremely critical of this. The next Army Act will bring in a unified court-martial system across all three branches of the armed forces, which will be a step forward. The court-martial system is often criticised; some perceive it as the forces trying to look out for its own and think courts-martial should be abolished, with service personnel tried in civilian courts. I would not want to see this. Defendants should be tried by their peers, and civilians do not have a full understanding of the unique nature of the military's role. Fifty years ago, when men did national service, things may have been different.'


Dealing with the media: 'I found it very interesting. The court-martial took place in Germany, so there was a lot of interest from the German press as well as the British media. There was a huge contrast between the forthright British press and the more deferential German press.'