PUPILLAGE & HOW TO GET IT: A WHOLE NEW OUTLOOK: A WEBSITE WELL WORTH READING
One of the (many) surprising things I have come across as a result of starting this blog is a recommendation (almost a requirement) from a prominent set of chambers that their prospective pupils read it before attending for interviews ….
BOOK REVIEW: IN YOUR DEFENCE: A BARGAIN AT ANY PRICE
I have said before that it is the criminal (and family) lawyers that have the best tales. However there are always things we can learn. If you have a Kindle (or access to the Kindle app) “In Your Defence” by Sarah…
WHY DO CRIMINAL LAWYERS HAVE ALL THE BEST STORIES? A REVIEW OF “UNDER THE WIG”
The bookshops appear to be awash with books by lawyers, fiction and non-fiction. Virtually all of these are by criminal lawyers. We civil lawyers clearly have far less interesting stories to tell. When I was sent “Under the Wig” by…
SOLICITOR AND CLIENT COSTS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE – BOOK REVIEW: BUY IT AND READ IT: £30 WORTH SPENDING
Disputes about costs between lawyers and their (former) clients can be “challenging”. Indeed they can be vitriolic and expensive. The lawyer thinking “We’ve done the work” – the client thinking “how much” and “I got nothing out of it, why…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3 PART 6: MAY IT PLEASE YOU, MADAM: STORIES THAT EVERY LITIGATOR NEEDS TO KNOW…
In the sixth in this series we a looking at “May it please you Madam” by retired District Judge Neil Hickman. This is not designed as a guide for advocates, indeed the subtitle is “A little book of legal whimsy”. …
BELIEVING YOUR CLIENTS: CAN THEY AFFORD IT? THE COMPLEX ISSUE OF “TRUTH” AND “LIES”: WHAT DOES THE LAWYER DO?
There are two sources for this post. The first is a blog by Lucy Reed on Pink Tape “It’s not my job to believe you – here’s why” ; the second is the judgment in Ruffell -v- Lovatt HHJ Hughes 4 April 2018. …
CIVIL LITIGATORS AND THE SECRET BARRISTER 5: PUBLIC LEGAL EDUCATION: IT MAY NOT BE A BOON, HOWEVER IT IS PROBABLY A MUST
There is a mug, available online, which reads “Don’t you mistake your Google search for my law degree”. I am sure that many lawyers have been tempted to purchase a set. The Google search may not be helpful, however a…
CIVIL LITIGATORS AND THE SECRET BARRISTER 4: WHY WE CAN’T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT (OR OURSELVES)
SB’s book sales plough on. It has reached the top 10 in the best seller list. The Criminal Bar Association have set up a fund to send a copy of the book to every MP. You can donate here. …
THE SECRET BARRISTER AND CIVIL LITIGATORS 3: “WHAT ABOUT OUR STATISTICS: “AN OUTRAGEOUS INTERFERENCE WITH THE RULE OF LAW
Chris Dale has done a proper. full-blown, review of SB’s book. I’m still looking at it piecemeal. Here I want to look at “targets”, statistics and the dangers they pose to the administration of justice. SB ON STATISTICS SB gives…
THE SECRET BARRISTER AND CIVIL LITIGATORS 2: THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF THE LITIGATION SOLICITOR
I am back to my review of the book that everyone is reading, the Secret Barrister’s “Stories of the Law and how its Broken”. I’ve already have people ask me not to give too much away – “don’t spoil the plot”. I…
THE SECRET BARRISTER – WHERE DO I START? (1) LETS TRY LISTING
Like many of the legal fraternity I have spent this weekend reading the Secret Barrister’s “Stories of the Law and how its Broken”. The book is about criminal law and criminal procedure, however there is much for civil litigators to…
A PRIVILEGE TO READ : THE LAW OF PRIVILEGE 3rd EDITION: COUPLED WITH SOME RECENT EXAMPLES – TO SHOW WHY YOU NEED IT
The Law of Privilege is now in its third edition. I have been reading through it and planning a review for some time. I came across the decision, on BAILLI today in Fleming v East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust…
SOLICITORS, SAVAGE POODLES: LAWYERS AND THEIR DOGS – 70 YEARS OF LEGAL PRACTICE
I bought a copy of “The Savage Poodle: Tales from Legal Practice” from Wildys on Wednesday. I didn’t plan to review it, but then a plan hatched in my mind… THE BOOK The book consists of selected extracts from the…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW, SERIES 2 PART 6 : “GORILLAS FROM THE NORTH”: SIR HARRY OGNALL
In this series about a judge’s guide to advocacy I looking at – and recommending – “A Life of Crime” by (Sir) Harry Ognall (plain “Harry Ognall” on the front page of the book). Unlike a lot of memoirs this…
WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER: THE UNDERWOOD TRILOGY
There are three volumes in Kerry Underwood’s guide to “Kerry on Personal Injury Small Claims Portals and Fixed costs”. Each has Kerry’s photo on the front. Should that put you off? As ever I have a “quick” review and a…
BOOK REVIEW: AN INTRODUCTION TO PERSONAL INJURY LAW
I reviewed David Boyle’s book on expert evidence earlier in the year. He has presumably decided to forego all forms of social interaction and has now written a general introduction to Personal Injury. The book places some emphasis on the…
THE MODERN JUDGE AND FACT FINDING: “TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION”
There is a full review of Sir Mark Hedley’s book The Modern Judge on Pink Tape, where Lucy Reed explains how the book mysteriously appeared in her hotel room the morning after the Family Law Awards. (Lucy speculates that Sir…
BOOKS ABOUT ADVOCACY: MUNKMAN ON THE TECHNIQUE OF ADVOCACY
Every litigator is an advocate, whether they know it or not. Litigation is fundamentally about the art of persuasion. This is a litigator’s daily task: in correspondence, on the phone, with the court. This is best done by the careful…
IF ONLY SOMEONE WOULD WRITE A BOOK ON EXPERTS…
There have been many occasions on this blog where I have commented on expert evidence. The links below show many cases where experts have caused major problems (usually for the party instructing them). There are numerous reports of cases where…
LOOKING AT LITIGATION FROM THE LITIGANT'S VIEWPOINT 1: A BOOK WORTH READING
There is surprisingly little written about the actual experience of being a litigant, particularly a litigant in the civil courts. What is more the “experience”, or viewpoint of the client does not figure greatly (if at all) in legal training. Doctors have…