Rebekah Finch

Who? Rebekah Finch, legal director at TLT, Birmingham. 

Why is she in the news? Represented former footballer Kieron Dyer in his claims regarding voicemail interception and misuse of private information against newspaper publisher MGN Ltd (MGN).

Thoughts on the case: ‘The claim (brought back in May 2018), related to articles published in MGN’s national newspapers, the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People, and alleged unlawful activity from 1998 to 2011. Kieron claimed his voicemail messages were intercepted by MGN, which obtained private and confidential voicemail messages from family and friends, leading to numerous articles being published.

‘MGN admitted to intercepting Mr Dyer’s voicemails between March 2003 and December 2004, and using private investigators to obtain information on eight occasions in 2003 and 2005. MGN denied, or did not admit, the articles were the product of unlawful information-gathering activities.

‘MGN’s conduct has had a lifelong impact on Kieron’s mental health and damaged relationships with friends and family.

‘The claim settled in April 2024. As part of the settlement MGN openly apologised to Kieron in a statement read out in the High Court on 20 November.’

Dealing with the media: ‘There has been a lot of press interest, particularly around the time of the Duke of Sussex’s trial against MGN in 2023 and the judgment dated 15 December 2023, where the court found that unlawful information-gathering was widespread at each of the three newspapers from 1996, and phone hacking became widespread and habitual at MGN from 1998. This activity continued to 2011, including during the Leveson Inquiry. This is the same period to which Kieron’s claim related.

‘Kieron hasn’t sought attention from the press, but it was important to him to receive a public apology from MGN. He now finally considers the matter concluded and can move on with his life.’

Why become a lawyer? ‘I studied law at A-level after work experience at a high street firm. I knew from then it was a path I wanted to pursue, in some form. I later volunteered with Citizens Advice while studying for my law degree and loved the challenge of problem-solving.’

Career high: ‘This case. While a claimant must pursue litigation with their eyes wide open knowing what they might have to get through to achieve vindication, no one could have anticipated the litigation lasting this long.’

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