Brooks Lawyer Uses Lack of Smoking Gun to Rebut ‘Tale’

As Rebekah Brooks ran the gauntlet of photographers outside the Old Bailey and bounded up the street at the end of the third day of jury deliberations in the News Corp. phone-hacking trial, at her side was one of London’s top fraud and business-crime lawyers, Jonathan Laidlaw.

Laidlaw, 54, dressed in the sleeved black waistcoat of a Queen’s Counsel, walked Brooks to the curb, helped her flag down a cab and put her safely inside. His reputation as a zealous advocate who can adapt to any situation will only be enhanced by the verdict 11 days later that cleared Brooks of phone hacking, bribery and obstruction of justice charges.