At a time when high profile individuals – many of them being extremely wealthy – are being catapulted into the public eye, the international law firm Withers has recently set up a specialist team to advise people coping with the media spotlight.

The law firm says new media outlets and the public’s hunger for celebrity news has led to an invasive media environment, although recent judgments have also shown courts are more willing to protect the privacy of public figures.

The doors of the most personal of courts, the family courts, were opened to the media in April 2009. Reporters can now witness first hand intimate family disputes being argued. (One example was the case of Monty Python television and movie star John Cleese having the details of his divorce settlement widely reported.)

The new Withers “Living in the public eye” team comprises senior lawyers with experience across a range of legal disciplines. They are Jennifer McDermott, partner, who is head of the reputation management team; Michael Gouriet, partner, who advises on family law, such as pre- and post-nuptial agreements; Filippo Noseda, partner; Hugh Devlin, consultant, who is an expert on the luxury sector, and Amber Melville-Brown, counsel, who works on reputation/crisis management advice for individual and corporate claimant clients including celebrities, professionals, national and international organisations.