Channel 4 has appointed Amali de Silva as its new controller of legal and compliance, replacing outgoing general counsel Prash Naik.

De Silva is joining from Wiggin, where she is a litigation consultant. She has expertise in defamation, privacy, data protection, contempt, copyright and format disputes, specialising in the TV and publishing sectors.

She spent 12 years with Wiggin, having joined the firm in 2005 from legacy Olswang. She trained and qualified at the now defunct firm D J Freeman.

She succeeds Prash Naik, who spent three years as Channel 4′s general counsel. He joined the channel in 1994 and has held various roles including senior lawyer and head of legal and compliance.

He was appointed as the broadcaster's first general counsel in 2014. He is leaving to move to Australia, where he will work for television and film producers in London and Sydney.

Law firms to have advised Channel 4 in recent years include Reed Smith, which successfully defended the broadcaster and production company IMG Media in a 2013 discrimination case brought against them by racing pundit John McCririck

Reed Smith also acted for Channel 4 in 2009 on its talks to form a joint venture with BBC Worldwide.