Fantasy Lawyers

December 16, 2008

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The case of Ian Clegg reminds Blade of a former colleague. This individual was not quite such a fantasist as our man in the north east, but when push came to shove he was hard pressed to provide evidence of his lawyerly qualifications. What he was very good at, however, was talking the talk, as this exchange, etched forever on Blade’s mind, reveals:

Con Man Head of Legal (and for a while, Blade’s boss), to Blade: What are you doing?

Blade (many years ago, when he was a tender young solicitor): They’ve made an application for security for costs, but I think they might have part of it wrong, so I’m looking it up in the White Book.

CMHoL: Don’t bother wasting your time reading the White Book (he scoops up said tome).

Blade (somewhat confused): Excuse me?

CMHoL: We’ve got better things to do than read books. Besides, I know every single page of the White Book. Next time don’t bother reading it – just ask me.

This little vignette betrays Blade’s age – the White Book is no more. But back then, it was the book for civil lawyers.  Sometimes, Blade would even read it at home of an evening, but even his innocent diligence would never persuade him to vouchsafe that he knew its every page, provision and protocol.

It transpired that the CMHoL wouldn’t have known a Security for Costs order if it hit him in the face, still less even the rudiments of civil procedure. Like Clegg, he was not long for the legal world, but to be fair, the CMHoL was effective, in his own, haphazard, less-than-lawyerly way, particularly at debt collection. Which cannot but prompt the question: Clegg, the putative barrister, was a fool – but did he win any of cases? Blade would wager that the answer is ‘yes’, though what this says about the legal profession he wouldn’t like to say.

Pictured: a man formerly seen often in the north east says “As a matter of law, that is incorrect” to Ian Clegg before disappearing to spend more time with his dogs.

 

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From the inside of the maze, ethically outwards

February 9, 2012

Curious times in the media; strange days at The Times.

Would ‘Dacre Cards‘ – the system of licensing journalists proposed by Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre – have prevented the embarrassment now palpable at the Times over the NightJack story?

Times editor James Harding’s evidence to the Leveson Inquiry seemed heartfelt and contrite, albeit that the paper’s former long-serving and much-respected lawyer, Alastair Brett, seems to have been, er, rather dropped in it. Clearly, mistakes were made with regard to NightJack by young reporter Patrick Foster who, once he had hacked into NightJack’s account and thus discovered his identity, then embarked on a quest to expose it via legitimate methods. This, as Inquiry counsel Robert Jay QC put it, was “rather like working from the inside of the maze out”.

But had Foster been licensed via a Dacre Card, would this unsavoury episode in the Times’s history have been avoided?

We suspect not. A raft of laws were in existence at precisely the time when many News of the World journalists seemed to believe that they were entitled to hack any phone they liked. Those laws forbade them from doing so, and yet made no difference. Aside from the obvious objection to them – that they will squeeze out freelancers and citizen journalists – Dacre Cards would simply amount to something to circumvent.

What is really required is an ethical shake-up, from top to bottom. Society generally – not just journalists – needs a sense that some things are just plain wrong.

Supreme Court on Twitter

February 6, 2012

Something remarkable happened today. Yes, the Supreme Court launched its Twitter feed. It even has a Twitter policy, one of caveats, disclaimers and little by way of illumination but regardless: who would have thought that the successor body to the House of Lords would stoop to engage with the world of tweets, hashtags and retweets?

We look forward to the day when court business will be conducted via Twitter. Meantime, check out this link for an excellent blog on the Supreme Court.

Not so right said Fred

February 2, 2012
fred hat

So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.

Now you are just Fred.

Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.

The Forfeiture Committee did for you.

No one had heard of it before,

But Dave said it had to act, and it did.

Trouble is that no one knows what to think.

Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,

Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?

We don’t know.

Do you?

By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.