It is Caption Competition time again…

The winner of my “Goodbye to Blair” caption Competition for May 2007…….. is: After a record entry of 37 …. (view them here) Blair: “No, no, don’t come any closer, Gordon! I said ELECTION, not erection…” Comment by Martin — Friday, May 11, 2007 Martin… please contact me so that I can get a bottle [...]

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You’re fired…

The Lord Chancellor isn’t searching for an apprentice (although some say that he may be searching for something else to do after 27th June) but, according to The Lawyer, lawyers who cause delays to court cases will be fired and defendants will be asked to find new lawyers – who, no doubt, will take a [...]

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Podcast 21: Intellectual Property and the IMPACT blog…

Podcast 21: Intellectual property and the IMPACT blog Today I am talking to Alex Newson and Andrew Mills, solicitors at Freeth Cartwright in Nottingham and authors of the IMPACT blog. While I do not deal with IP issues that often I find the blog useful in keeping abreast of developments. We cover a fair bit [...]

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They thought it was all over… but it isn’t now…

The Independent reports (Sunday 27th May) that Tony Blair and close aides (may) face further questioning (possibly under caution this time?) in the cash-for-honours matter. The CPS has directed detectives to return to the case to find ‘key pieces of evidence to strengthen the case.’ Well well…who is surprised at this development? Perhaps these interviews [...]

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Show me the way to Tenarillo…

Sha la la lala lalala Sha la la lala lalala Sha la la lala lalala When the day is dawning on a 10 Downing Street morning how I long to be there with Hazel Blears who’s waiting for me there every lonely city where I hang my hat ain’t as half as pretty as where [...]

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Until death us do part?….

With England at 570-7 (declared) and The West Indies facing a follow on at 99-6, I decided that my presence in front of the television was no longer necessary. I could follow the game from my laptop through The Bollo Wi-fi. It is some time since I have had to get the books on Family [...]

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Shameful… and demeaning to the reputation of Britain

Tul Bahadur Pun is a Gurkha. Tul Bahadur Pun fought for Britain in WW II against the Japanese. Tul Bahadur Pun won the Victoria Cross. Tul Bahadur Pun is 84, lives on a pension of £134 a month, and has to be carried in a basket by several men – a day’s walk, to collect [...]

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The human condition ….revisited…

I have read far too much law this week and as I wait for a lunch meeting with a distinguished Professor of Law who wishes to discuss the future of legal education, pleasingly over a bottle of Rioja, I found myself flicking through the pages of The Sun, the only paper available to me at [...]

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Muttley Dastardly LLP: Expansion

From: Matt Muttley To: All Partners cc: Dr Strangelove Date: 24th May 2007 ANY OF YOU KNOW ANY FAMILY LAW ? Eva Braun has just put the Evening Standard in front of me. A woman has won a £48 million divorce battle. Do we have anyone who knows any Family Law? If not, can we [...]

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Motorbike parking bays and men shopping…

This is a parking sign. It shows that the space is reserved for motorcycles. The markings on the road also say ‘Motorcycles only’…. so why, three times this week, have I arrived at 7.00 am to have breakfast at a cafe to find a bloody car parked in the parking bay I use ? I [...]

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Lord Chief Justice XI v Lord Chancellor XI…

When you get a BBC producer asking Joshua Rozenberg, a respected legal journalist, “Can you explain, in very simple terms, what this row is all about?” – the story is worth reading. Joshua Rozenburg reports: “The BBC producer who asked me that question on Tuesday evening was understandably bemused. We had just watched a senior [...]

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Alternative Dispute Resolution and ADR

Justin Patten, Solicitor ADR / Mediation Course Justin Patten of Human Law Mediation has produced an interesting course on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation for LegalPractitioner.co.uk Trailer : Quicktime | Trailer: WindowsMedia You may find that The Legal Practitioner Online Magazine (Based on the model of Consilio) is useful… and free.

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Muttley Dastardly LLP: Practice and Academe…

From The Desk of Matt Muttley, Managing Partner Eva Braun, my PA, told me some time ago that senior City lawyers are being appointed as Deans of Law Schools. This is to be encouraged – particularly if it removes them from the corporate law gene pool. I am, endorsing this ‘transferability between practice and academe’, [...]

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Two tribes go to war?

Time to download the cut-out Lord Chancellor mask again… I saw the television footage last night of Lord Phillips giving evidence to the Commons constitutional affairs committee. The Guardian reports on the growing constitutional crisis between the judiciary and The Ministry of Justice – although Lord Phillips describes it as a ‘constitutional problem’ rather than [...]

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We can see you…

Not content with fixed position and mobile CCTV units, the Police are now to start using a radio controlled helicopter fitted with high definition cameras and thermal imaging equipment to monitor criminals and anyone else who happens to be ‘in picture’ at the time. BBC story And…. parking fines are to rise to £120. A [...]

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And so it came to pass…

And it came to pass that Geeklawyer convened a meeting of The Blawgers. They gathered at a place in the City of Mammon and all were revealed in their finery, without need of disguise… And so the day arrived for LawBlog2007 (re-named the first European Law Bloggers Conference after drinks in the Pub after the [...]

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The management consultant…

I just cannot resist passing this on…. you may have seen it “A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW drives up in a cloud of dust. The driver, a young man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window [...]

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In a few days time…

The sky, overcast and grey, threatened more rain. Rain bounced off the road and ran into the already flooded gulleys where road meets pavement, or ‘pedestrian walkway’ as the traffic warden described it when he warned me not to park my motorbike on it. A roadsweeper walked by, pushing his cart. He is Irish and [...]

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Au revoir, Sayonara, Ciao…Auf Wiedersehen…

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a goner. He has abdicated. Now…. we are faced with direct rule from Scotland – in the form of a latter day Manse borne bank manager, who, in all probability, will bore the arse / tits off other world leaders and, more than probably, most of the British public. Brown [...]

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Ministry of Justice

And so we start a new era.  The Department for Constitutional Affairs is now The Ministry of Justice (Although the old DCA website remains for archive purposes). Lord Falconer, Lord Chancellor and  Secretary of State for Justice (For the time being?) kicks off with “The Ministry of Justice provides the opportunity for the whole justice [...]

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