Is my practice collapsing?
That's the question all barristers ask themselves from time to time! When we are busy, we do nothing but moan about the hours we work. I frequently annoy Mr Beagle by detailing how many hours I worked...
View ArticleA bit special
I had a trip to a nearby Magistrates Court today to represent a woman charged with drink-driving. "Wow, how thrilling!" I hear you thinking, and I accept it wasn't the most exciting case I'd ever had....
View ArticleThe joy of appeals
Another stunning (albeit insignificant) victory today, this time in an appeal against sentence. When people are convicted and/or sentenced by a Magistrates Court, there is an automatic right of appeal...
View ArticleWould your lordships give me a moment?
I'm off to the Court of Appeal in a couple of weeks to appeal against a sentence and today I received the transcript of the original hearing. I always cringe slightly to see my own words in print, but...
View ArticleWant a pupillage? Then read this...
Being a junior(ish) criminal barrister, I'm always up for thankless tasks which are both time-consuming and tedious. This is why I am on our Chambers' pupillage committee. The closing date for...
View ArticleMonday misery...
I have had an entirely pointless morning today. After spending a significant amount of the weekend preparing a trial, I arrived at court bright and early this morning and after a chat to my opponent, a...
View ArticleThe beagle is back
Apologies for such a long absence! I spent the whole of last week prosecuting a trial at a court miles away and never seemed to find time to blog. The trial was all about a big feud between neighbours...
View ArticleTurbulent times
Ever since pupillage, I've only ever really done criminal work. As many people involved in this area know, we criminal hacks currently live in troubled times. Not only is there widespread unrest about...
View ArticleThe Old Guard v Ally
Like most other sets, the Chambers I'm in has a real variety of people as members. Being a friendly sort of person, I get on with most other tenants - in fact, I can only think of one person I actively...
View ArticleBack to school
For most of us, today was the first day back in court after a four-day Easter break. Maybe it's partly because the sun was shining outside, but there was a real gloominess about the Crown Court I was...
View ArticleLetting the side down
Last weekend I went to the CBA (Criminal Bar Association) Conference in the lovely city of Birmingham. I had been looking forward to it for some time, partly because I’m fond of Brum, partly because it...
View ArticleSex, lies and videotape
Or DVDs, actually. Today I finished a very harrowing trial involving a series of sexual offences against two children; what is commonly referred to as a "filth case". These are always depressing...
View ArticleStraight from the horse's mouth
Unusually, I didn't read the paper until yesterday evening so missed the story about the Michael Symes, a juror on the terrorism trial. I've often wondered how jurors cope with being on long trials...
View ArticleShock findings
Apparently, magistrates ignore expert reports when sentencing young offenders, preferring to rely on their own "common sense" and defendants' backgrounds and previous convictions when determining...
View Article"Fat chicks are more grateful"
I hope that this report of a defence barrister's conduct in a rape trial contained a lot of inaccuracies. It's often unattractive to run consent when the circumstances of an alleged rape are horrible...
View ArticleTime flies...
Dear me, has it really been over a month? Sorry to be gone so long. I was away on holiday for a couple of weeks (very decadent, I know) and in the three weeks I've been back I've been sent all over the...
View ArticleOut with the old, in with the new
Not only does our fine nation have a brand new Prime Minister, but I arrived in Chambers today to find an email about a brand new form in my inbox. I am, of course, referring to the Plea and Sentence...
View ArticleSmokin'
Well, it's the first weekday of the new anti-smoking laws and already the smokers in Chambers are plotting ways to flout the ban. We used to have a smoking room but now its patrons are being forced out...
View ArticleSave our hedgehogs!
Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court is currently home to a high-profile case involving the heroic prosecution of a merciless hedgehog-slayer. Whilst the police, the RSPCA and the HSE were too lazy and...
View ArticleExecutions
China has executed Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of their Food and Drug Asociation, for accepting bribes to approve untested drugs. Although the consequences of what he did were tragic (at least 10 people...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Farewell to wigs
The inevitable has happened and the wig is to be abolished, at least in civil and family cases. As of January 1st 2008 only judges sitting in criminal courts will have to wear the wig and traditional...
View ArticleClient Care
Those of us whose practice areas demand that we go to court on an almost daily basis spend a fair amount of time dealing with clients. This is, to say the least, a mixed blessing. Some of them are...
View ArticlePhone a friend
One of the few remaining perks of being learned counsel is that you don't have members of the public approaching you directly to chat about their legal woes. (Unless you do public access work, that is,...
View ArticleThe nights are drawing in...
Summer, such as it was, is at an end, kids are back at school ( ha ha!) and there's an undeniable chill in the air but at least the traditional August lull in work is over. I've been so busy these last...
View ArticleAnimal magic
We in the legal trade spend so much time moaning about ridiculous new (and sometimes old) legislation, it's refreshing to learn of the government implementing a fantastic new law which can only benefit...
View Article
