Who? Simon Taylor, 51-year-old partner at Freeth Cartwright in Nottingham, who specialises in sports law and large festival and event licensing and organisation.

Why is he in the news? Represented the festival organisation company, Reading Festival, which successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal against a county court judgment that it pay West Yorkshire Police more than £300,000 for services provided during the 2003 Leeds Festival. Considering section 25 of the Police Act 1996, the Court of Appeal held that the predominant purpose of the police presence in the area around Bramham Park during the three-day event was for the protection of the public at large; the police were acting as part of their ordinary public duty, rather than providing 'special police services' and, therefore, the organiser was not liable for the cost. Reading Festival is part of the Mean Fiddler Organisation, which also helps run Glastonbury.


Background: Law degree and Law Society Finals at Nottingham Trent University, followed by articles at his current firm, which was then known as Hunt Dickens & Willatt. He qualified in 1980 and became a partner six years later.


Route to the case: 'I have acted in the industry since the mid-1980s and this was an existing client.'


Thoughts on the case: 'We now have Court of Appeal guidelines as to what the police are entitled to charge for. There's been a change in the police's attitude towards charging over the last few years; they seem to have tried to expand their ability to recoup money from major sporting events and concerts. The judgment very helpfully clarifies two things - what is a request for services and what are "special police services". The police are allowed to charge event organisers for special services, but not for carrying out a public duty. People in the industry recognise that police are expensive and, where possible, they should not be deployed where a good security company could do the job. It's a very good decision and helpfully Lord Justice Baker highlighted the importance of both sides negotiating what cover is required and any costs before an event, which is what used to happen. The security at the 2003 Leeds Festival was provided by a private security company; there was no police presence within the music arena, and the police operation was effectively to provide reassurance to villages around the site. Had they chosen to put a police presence in the ground, we would have paid for it.'


Dealing with the media: 'I've been disappointed at the sensational way the non-legal press reported this story. They went on about what a kick in the teeth it was for the police, and missed the fundamental issue - that the Court of Appeal found on the facts that there had been no request for special police services and no such services had been provided.'