A history of phone hacking and the current Leveson enquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press through the activities of lawyers alone is intriguing. I am a Leveson addict, and a long-time watcher of lawyers, and so it is a natural combination. I undertook an analysis some time ago during the Chilcot enquiry about lawyers’ participation in the Iraq war. So here are five Leveson groupings, on a sliding scale from heroes to 'interesting contributions’.

I hope that this combines the best of the tabloids - a choice of five to slip down with your breakfast - with avoidance of the worst tabloid excesses of bullying and name-calling. No phone hacking has been involved in collecting the data for this article.

It is good that - as with Chilcot and Elizabeth Wilmshurst - we can begin with heroes. Every profession needs them, and Mark Lewis of Taylor Hampton and Charlotte Harris of Mishcon de Reya have fulfilled the role. They have pursued the cases single-mindedly, despite obstacles and surveillance, including as to whether they were having an affair and passing on information to each other. They have seen their clients’ principal allegations proved true. Mark Lewis also had to defend his name by successfully suing the then chair of the Press Complaints Commission for defamation. They are good examples.

The judge himself, Lord Leveson, and the barristers representing the various recognised groupings have been performing in public for weeks. It has been an instructive performance of the English legal system and its adversarial system - taken for granted by us as normal. It has so far exhibited the best of the system: calmness, thoroughness, fairness, the ability for each side to have its say on equal terms, and forensic examination of the issues.

Richard Thomas, the former Information Commissioner, did not give evidence as a lawyer, but he is - or at any rate was - a lawyer, formerly working at Clifford Chance, among other places. His was a cruel fate, since decisions made in the light of many pressing claims were held up to the spotlight and examined in minute detail. Not many of us would survive such examination without taint. The Office of the Information Commissioner deserves great credit for Operation Motorman and two reports into the trade of information.

But Richard Thomas faced relentless examination about why he had not pursued the press or individual journalists more closely on the basis of those reports, and why he had misunderstood the nature of the Press Complaints Commission. He says that Gordon Brown told him he had the most difficult job in the country - and he may feel, after Leveson, that his public trials came a little closer to those of Gordon Brown.

Next there is Alastair Brett, the former legal manager for The Times, who made an appearance in relation to activity undertaken by Patrick Foster, then a Times journalist, who was trying to unearth the identity of a blogger called Night Jack. For an account of what happened, I rely entirely on the witness statement of James Harding, editor of the Times, with the relevant extracts being as follows: 'It appears that Mr Foster first told Martin Barrow, the then home news editor to whom Mr Foster reported, that he had been able to access Night Jack’s email account and had thereby been able to identify Night Jack as Mr Horton. Mr Foster also informed Alastair Brett, the then legal manager for The Times and The Sunday Times. The decision to take the matter to court was Mr Brett’s, I was not informed of the instruction of counsel, any communications with Mr Horton’s lawyers, or the decision as to what material to put before the court. Mr Brett was a very experienced legal manager. I was deeply frustrated that he had not consulted with me on the decision to take legal action, but, in any event, I would have left the conduct of the litigation, including what material was put before the court, to him. It is my understanding that Mr Brett told Mr Foster that if he wanted to publish a story about Night Jack’s identity, he would have to identify him through legal means.

'Following this Mr Foster appears to have sought to do that. I understand that Mr Brett told Linklaters on 2 February 2012 that he decided not to inform leading counsel for The Times Antony White QC, or the court about the issue because he took the view that this information provided to him by Mr Foster was confidential and privileged, that it would incriminate Mr Foster, and that in any event Mr Foster had been able to identify Mr Horton through legitimate means. At the time, I did not know that Mr Brett had taken this decision. I understand that Mr Brett has told Linklaters that he did not believe at the time, and still does not believe, that the decision he took resulted in the court being misled.’

It is reported meanwhile that Mr Brett, who is said to have a 'completely clear conscience’, is frustrated by what Leveson has heard and wants to appear at the enquiry to put his side of the story.

Finally, we come to Tom Crone, the News of the World’s former legal manager, and Julian Pike of Farrars, both of whom were involved in surveillance of the lawyers involved on the other side of the case they were fighting. Both were acting for the Murdoch empire in the case of the huge payment to Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor. We heard from Leveson evidence that they were aware at the time that leading counsel Michael Silverleaf had told News International in a written opinion that there was 'a culture of illegal information access' at News Group Newspapers.

I would not like to have been in the shoes of any of them. The tabloids would give a hypocritical, high-moral-ground and abusive conclusion to this tale. I do not, because we all know that life is varied and complicated, and contains many possibilities. Yet I am glad that the tabloids’ own behaviour and atrocious stories are now coming under the microscope.

Jonathan Goldsmith is secretary general of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, which represents about one million European lawyers through its member bars and law societies. He blogs weekly for the Gazette on European affairs