On the eve of G20 Britain leads the world in bizarre politics…

The Ranting Penguin sums it up rather well… “What a tragedy for My Lord Myners, to fall so spectacularly from grace so fucking quickly after his elevation to the peerage so he could serve in Gordon’s Government of the Talent Free” .It would seem that Lord Myners may  not be fit for purpose and according [...]

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BabyBarista comes out of the shadows!

BabyBarista comes out of the shadows! The Times Online has today revealed Tim Kevan, barrister and author of The Barrister blog, as the writer of their blog BabyBarista . To read the article, click here . It also reports that Bloomsbury will be publishing the first book in the series entitled ‘BabyBarista and the Art [...]

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Lawcast 124: Jacqui Gilliat, Barrister, on the problems arising out of the reduction of legal aid in family cases.

Lawcast 124: Jacqui Gilliat, Barrister, on the problems arising out of the reduction of legal aid in family cases. Today I am talking to Jacqui Gilliat, Barrister, 4 Brick Court and author of the Bloody Relations and Family Law Week blogs about the proposed reduction in legal aid in family law cases. Listen to the [...]

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Lawcast 123: Alasdair Pearce about his law degree studies at Cambridge University

Lawcast 123: Alasdair Pearce about his law degree studies at Cambridge University Today I am talking to Alasdair Pearce about his experience at Cambridge University where he is in the second year of a law degree and his planning for the BVC and pupillage. Listen to the podcast

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Public have their say on how criminals payback

Public have their say on how criminals payback Ministry of Justice: A new campaign that explains how the public can have their say on the work offenders carry out on Community Payback was launched today by Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. This latest idea from the government has the whiff of being [...]

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Cry God for Harry, St George and England (not forgetting Wales)….

While we do not  yet live in a dystopic society, the dysfunctional nature of modern life; forged on an anvil of oppressive religion and laws devised to suit the needs of the ruling elite of times past, leave us in 21st century Britain with more laws than the  apparatus of the state can remember, let [...]

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Postcard from *East of London*: 29th March

Dear Reader, I write this week, reflecting that we live in a potentially dystopic society where the legal profession act as undertakers and embalmers, attending upon the apparatus of state and government,  with news reported this very morning that our Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is caught up in yet another expenses row.  Sky reports that [...]

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Lawcast 122: Ekaterina Zelenova, Barrister on her search for pupillage

Today I am talking to Ekaterina Zelenova, a recently called barrister, about her search for pupillage.  Ekaterina is also the author of Android’s Reminiscences – a stylish law blog. Listen to the podcast | Podcast version for iTunes Update I have re-compressed the podcast file and set the correctt mono settin gs, so it should [...]

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Saturday, security, saddoes and hyperventilating journos…

As fellow blogger and former colleague from a past life The Fat Bigot would say – there is a goat over there, let’s scape it. The Police are to investigate  The Security Service MI5 “about allegations that it was complicit in the interrogation and torture of a Guantánamo Bay detainee” (The Times) . It is [...]

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Charon After Dark: An interview with Gordon Brown?

Few people get a chance to interview an unelected serving Prime Minister and I am no different. So… I made an  interview up.  Here is an imaginary podcast with the Prime Minister.  I may have to get my coat – but it is Friday night and I was at a loose end with, possibly, too [...]

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27th March: I bring news of many things…

Rome fiddles while Nero burns? The country is going through the deepest recession since the Second World War, the G20 countries are to meet shortly but it would appear that some people have other things on their minds. Objection! Judges reject new robes The Independent: High Court judiciary say Betty Jackson designs make them look [...]

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Stick it up your Junta Mr Brown?

Is it time to call in the Generals? Yesterday, Ian Parker-Joseph joked, following Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King’s audience with The Queen (an event without precedent?),  that it would only be a matter of time before The Queen invited the Generals in. Well… she has done just that.. or rather, Air Chief [...]

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26th March: Insite Law – news, editorial and podcast now up

Roasted on a spit? While Gordon Brown is roasted by Dan Hannan MEP on his visit to The European Parliament in one of the most articulate and powerful poltiical speeches I have ever listened to – excoriating – Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw, has been unveiling tougher corruption laws. Hannan seems a bit [...]

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Charon Reports: Cheating or taking professional advice?

Listen to the Podcast: Charon Reports: Cheating or taking professional advice? There has been a fair bit of coverage in the blogosphere and the dead tree press about the services offered by Oxbridge Training Contracts, Legal Week reports: “A controversial company which provides model essays to university students has broadened its services to help prospective [...]

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Drunken ramblings from London?…

I met up with Geeklawyer on Friday for a short lunch. We talk together on his ridiculous white Google phone after he decided that we just had to do a podcast.  Here is the result.  I’ll get my coat… Listen to the podcast (And remember, do not do this at home – we are professionals)

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22nd March: Postcard from *East of London*

Jade – you have been evicted, would you please leave The World From “fat chav racist slag” (Sun, News of The World etc etc in times not so far past)  to the “People’s Princess”  probably sums up the career of Big Brother housemate Jade Goody who passed into television and media folklore in the early [...]

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In the name of the father… the son….

I see that my cousin Charon QC  has been busy having a go at His Holiness (infra). While I would not wish to provoke yet another schism in the church, especially after that rather embarrassing business over the British holocaust denying bishop,  it is not particularly helpful to the wider interests of those of us [...]

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Infallibility and a trip to London…

I was talking to John Bolch of Family Lore earlier today and in the course of the conversation, apropos of nothing in particular, he  asked me if I had heard the latest utterances of the man in Rome with the pointed white hat, God’s Banker, the Pope. I told him that I rarely, if ever, [...]

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Just a few things…

And so here we are… coming up to the end of the week – has it been a good week for you? Twitter continues to amuse (or abused in my case) and here is an excellent short film for those who share my taste for parody. Tom Harris MP on his blog provides the following [...]

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Hi Adobe… thank you very much for writing to me

Hi Adobe… thank you very much for writing to me … but in these difficult days why do you you think, when I have paid a lot of money for your excellent products over the years, I should want to give you my thoughts for FREE?  I am an academic lawyer, blogger and a writer…. [...]

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