Who? Paul Osler, 47-year-old founder and now consultant at Oslers in Newmarket, who specialises in criminal defence work.


Why is he in the news? Represents Steven Wright, the 48-year-old man accused of murdering five women in Ipswich. The bodies of the women, who all worked as prostitutes, were found in countryside near the town between 2 and 12 December. Mr Wright, a former forklift truck driver, was arrested at his home on 19 December. He appeared before Ipswich Crown Court for a preliminary hearing last week, made no application for bail, and was remanded in custody until 1 May. Karim Khalil QC, who prosecuted the Soham murderer, Ian Huntley, has been instructed to lead the defence team in court.



Background: Management degree at City University, followed by the common professional examination and Law Society finals at Manchester Polytechnic, before articles with Bolton firm Keogh Ritson (now Keoghs). After qualifying in 1992, he moved to Ward Gethin in King's Lynn, then in 1994 to Bury St Edmunds firm Burnett Barker. In 1995, he joined Kerseys in Ipswich, where he became a partner, before leaving in 1997 to start his own firm. In April last year, he sold the firm and was employed as a consultant.



Route to the case: 'I picked it up as duty solicitor.'



Thoughts on the case: 'There must be serious concerns as to whether or not there can be a fair trial in Ipswich due to the strength of local feeling where such serious crimes were committed on the doorstep. Defence counsel is likely to make an application to the High Court for the trial to be moved away from Ipswich. I'm not sure where it would go and understand that London may not be able to accommodate it due to a busy caseload.'



Dealing with the media: 'This sort of case is very rare. As a specialist criminal defence firm, we frequently deal with murders. What makes this case extraordinary is the public and media attention. The press has a legitimate interest in the case and it will be notorious. I'm being co-operative, giving them time and answering questions. I don't like it when lawyers duck and dive with the media, but the key thing is for me to know where to draw the line. The media is generally very professional, but they will try to push the boundaries and ask me questions they know I can't answer. One thing we will have to do in due course is examine the media coverage to

see if it has prejudiced the chances of a fair trial.'



Catherine Baksi