The bigger the story, the more vital it is to have a legal team as the last line of defence between a publisher and an expensive lawsuit
It was 9pm on a Friday and I had finally sat down with a gin and tonic to watch a bit of catch-up television when the phone rang. It was an American lawyer fuming about a piece the Guardian had just published. As I scrambled to read into the story and figure out how I would raise the journalist involved, an urgent sport story landed in my inbox following a punch-up at a football match, quickly followed by a 2,000-word Observer story that needed to be 100% legally watertight.
Such is the lot of the media lawyer, often the last line of defence between a publisher and a hefty lawsuit. Freedom of speech is a fundamental part of any democracy, but exercising and defending it can be a difficult and expensive thing.