Lawyer in the news

Who? Julia Sohrab, 35-year old assistant solicitor in the civil litigation department at 13-partner London firm Bindman & Partners.

Why is she in the news? Represented transsexual Christine Goodwin, who last week won the right to be recognised as a woman and to marry under UK law.

Ms Goodwin, who has lived as a woman since 1984 and had a sex change operation in 1990, was awarded 25,000 by the European Court of Human Rights.

The court ruled that Britain's failure to recognise her new identity breached her right to respect for private life and her right to marry under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Background: LLB from Newcastle University 1986-1989 followed by doctorate in European equality law from European University Institute in Florence, Italy (1990-1994).

Completed LPC at Manchester Metropolitan University in 1995, and qualified with Bindmans in 1997 where she has been ever since, bar three months at Salans Hertzeld Heilbronn HRK in 1998.

Route to the case: 'The client came to partner Stephen Grosz, a recognised expert in human rights law.'

Thoughts on the case: 'My client is delighted, having lodged her application herself in 1995 and done a great deal of work on it until coming to us at the end of last year so we could draft the final observations to the court on her behalf.

I consider it a very important ruling - the court said unanimously that there had been a violation of article 12 (the right to marry) whereas they had been reluctant to find any violation of this article in any of the previous cases relating to transsexuals.

This will act as a positive statement about what the court expects from all member states in terms of the right to respect for private life and the right to marry.'

Dealing with the media: 'Bindmans are no strangers to publicity about our cases, and many of us have experience of talking to the media.

The reporting of Christine Goodwin's case has been substantially accurate and, on the whole, sympathetic.'

Victoria MacCallum