Gill Phillips

Gill Phillips is The Guardian's top in-house lawyer in London ... She's been in Australia for the past fortnight sussing out the local legal scene and drawing up long and short lists of external media law firms that might assist the new Australian edition of The Guardian ... We're fearlessly interrogating this lawyer who couldn't be an historian while she's recumbent on Justinian's couch 

Gill Phillips: identifies with taramasalata GILL PHILLIPS is the director of editorial legal services for Guardian News & Media Limited, publishers of The Guardian and The Observer newspapers and guardian.co.uk.  

Phillips trained at Coward (now Clifford) Chance before escaping from private practice in 1987 to join the BBC legal team.

Since then she has been an in-house lawyer for The Sun and The News of the World, a lecturer at the College of Law and an in-house lawyer for The Times and The Sunday Times.

She sat on the Ministry of Justice's Working Group on Libel Reform, and was a member of the Master of the Rolls' Injunction Committee.

She has been involved in advising The Guardian on Trafigura, phone-hacking, Wikileaks and the Leveson Inquiry.

She also sits as a part-time Employment Tribunal Judge.  

At the moment though, she's lying down on Justinian's couch ... 

Describe yourself in three words.

Short, short, short. 

What are you currently reading? 

I have two books on the go: Jeanette Winterson Why be happy when you could be normal; and a Scandinavian crime thriller called The Ice Cage. 

What's your favourite film?

I constantly change, but I watched the French-Australian film The Tree on SBS the other night and thought it was superb. 

Who has been the most influential person in your life? 

John Spencer my law professor at Cambridge - a great mind, a great man, but so endearingly humble. 

What is your favourite piece of music?

Pink, Dear Mr President. 

What is in your refrigerator? 

Wine, beer, milk and yogurt more wine and beer. 

What is your favourite website?

guardian.co.uk, although I also spend far too long on Transport for London's cycle routes.  

What do you recommend as a hangover cure?

Small diced apple with its skin left on and a diet coke with ice and lemon.  

What words or phrases do you overuse?

Just a couple of little tweaks. 

Was there an important opportunity that you didn't take?

Too many, but life's a constantly evolving journey and we have to make the most of whatever path we find ourself on. 

Why did you want to be a lawyer? 

Because I couldn't be a historian. 

How did you get a job at The Guardian? 

Working at The Guardian was always my dream job, but I thought an opportunity would never arise; then my predecessor moved to Ofcom and so there was a vacancy, which I applied for and got. 

What has been the most vexing legal issue facing the newspaper? 

Wikicables, because it was so global and so all embracing legally and so 24/7. 

What's your most glamorous feature?

Huh, you must be joking! Ask a friend! 

If you were a foodstuff, what would you be?

Taramasalata.  

What human quality do you most distrust?

Confidence. 

What would you change about the law in England?

I would make charging hourly rates illegal and I would get rid of contempt - it's old fashioned and doesn't work in the internet age. 

Whom or what do you consider overrated?

Instant puncture repair kits. 

What would your epitaph say?

She always tried to do her best. 

What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word "law"? 

Lord Denning.