Mishcon de Reya disputes partner Charlotte Harris is to move to Kingsley Napley to launch a media and reputation management unit.

Harris, (pictured) who will join Kingsley Napley in January, featured prominently in the Leveson Inquiry as the lawyer for a number of celebrities and a vocal campaigner for media law reform.

Alongside actor Hugh Grant and others, she is one of the public faces of Hacked Off, a victims' campaigning group which calls for changes to the way the press is held to account.

Her hire also brings Kingsley Napley's female partner count to 25, out of a 47-strong partnership.

Harris began her career as a barrister at 5 Raymond Buildings, later joining making the move to JMW, where she was head of media, and then to Mishcon in 2011. She called her new home "an influential top player," adding that "everybody I have met there has been first class".

"In an environment where reputational management has become part of an everyday agenda, clients are more savvy as they face the challenges of media exposure to avoid a crisis, to manage their image and in the glare of the spotlight," she added.

Kingsley Napley disputes partner Gerard Cukier, who acts for Kingsley Napley's clients in the media, sports and entertainment industries, said Harris "brings immense experience in the areas of media and reputation where she has been an innovator and a fearless advocate for her clients over the last few years".

While at Mishcons, Harris and Taylor Hampton solicitor advocate Mark Lewis – who was also representing victims of phone hacking including the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler – were alleged to have been followed by a private investigator paid by News of the World in a bid to prove that they were in a relationship and were sharing confidential information.

The hire of Harris is the second marquee media signing for Kingsley Napley this year, following the hire of DLA Piper white collar partner Jo Rickards, who represented former News of the World editor Andy Coulson in the recent phone-hacking trial. In the same case, Kingsley Napley represented Charlie and Rebekah Brooks.