Who? James Netto, partner, The International Family Law Group, London.
Why is he in the news? The BBC World of Secrets podcast and BBC Africa Eye followed the work of Netto and Kenyan human rights lawyer Kelvin Kubai, helping children search for their British soldier fathers.
Thoughts on the case: ‘Seeing the case through from the very first meeting with clients in their homes in rural Kenya, to witnessing the DNA sampling, all the way through to obtaining declarations of parentage, has been the privilege of my career. The process has been a complex, unpredictable and undeniably emotional one. It has seen us connect abandoned children with fathers who never knew they existed; others have had to be told that the fathers they thought were deceased are actually alive and well in London. For other cases, we have had to tell applicants that there are no close family members to be found and thus questions about their heritage will, for now, remain unanswered.
‘Each applicant is seeking one simple but fundamental answer to the question: who is my father? Through DNA testing and the careful cross-referencing of publicly available genetic databases, long-held questions about identity are finally being answered. For respondents, an application of this nature can feel like a hand grenade is being thrown into family life. The cases also raise larger questions about the UK’s role in Africa, and not least the continued presence of British soldiers in former colonies.’
Dealing with the media: ‘Having the media involved has been indispensable in terms of spreading the word far and wide – and reflecting that this issue is not just unique to a couple of families in Kenya, but rather, a result of systemic and deep-rooted failings in the Ministry of Defence.’
An MoD spokesperson said: ‘While paternity claims against UK service personnel are a private life issue, the UK government cooperates with local Kenyan child support authorities where there are claims relating to paternity.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘I am the son of immigrants. As such, I could either be a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, or a failure. As I can’t count and am not great with blood, law it was.’
Career high: ‘Travelling to Dublin to collect an abducted child, while my wayward client was being held in the cells for orchestrating the abduction. I flew over with his passport and returned the chatty toddler to his tearful father in court the same day. The wide-eyed judge immediately released my client from custody.’
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