WHEN Milan Mandaric was cleared of all allegations of tax evasion it marked the end of a four-year investigation and two lengthy trials. I was very pleased professionally with the outcome and, on a personal level, delighted that Milan has been acquitted.

The case brought many challenges, particularly with it being so high profile and the association with Harry Redknapp.

The obvious difference with this case and others we have handled was the significant media interest from day one of the investigation dating back to November 2007.

This case was also unique as live media reporting has changed so much recently and tested the limits to which a fair trial could be maintained. The use of Twitter in court had to be carefully monitored.

From ensuring that the press were not in contempt of court before the hearing to monitoring the live press as the trial progressed was a unique situation which added an extra dimension over and above ensuring that our work was carried out effectively.

Despite all the additional factors, one of the key elements to success was identifying and not losing sight of the core issues. In a case of this magnitude, it would be easy to be sidetracked with extraneous issues.

However, by working closely both as a team and with counsel, we ensured we all kept moving in the same direction.

Also the client was a pleasure to work with throughout, which in itself was incredible given the tremendous stress of having a case like this hanging over your head for such a long period of time.

Thinking about why we were successful, while we will never know what specifically the jury thought, we were able to identify this was a weak case that should not have been dragged into the criminal arena.

In addition, the client showed himself to the jury to be the man of integrity that he is. For this reason alone we were confident the jury would see the case for what it was.