Halloween…whatever that is…

I’m off to London to meet some tweeters… for Halloween… and why not…. Back tomorrow with Podcast from the Staterooms-On-Sea.. Have a good one..

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Home Office announces that the world is flat

Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, announced today that he found Professor Nutt’s advice inconvenient and not consistent with policy… or so it would seem. The Guardian reports rather more precisely: “Professor David Nutt, the Government’s chief drug adviser, was sacked today after claiming ecstasy and LSD were less dangerous than alcohol, Home Office sources said” Ah [...]

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A rather grave matter…

When I was a law student, I dug graves to keep myself amused with cigarettes, wine and other sybaritic pleasures.  I don’t dig graves these days,  but as I get older I am definitely interested in the idea of supermarkets flogging coffins.  I can quite happily picture myself, on a Saturday when I collect my [...]

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A Round Tuit (7)

A Round Tuit (7) Colin Samuels, author of four award winning Blawg reviews and until recently a sherpa on Blawg Review – produces an excellent weekly round up of Blawgs.  While inevitably US centric, Colin looks at a range of blog posts each week and often features blog posts from elsewhere.  Always worth a read [...]

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Lawcast 159: Charles Christian on new technologies for lawyers

  Legal Technology Insider Lawcast 159: Charles Christian on new technologies for lawyers   Today I am talking to Charles Christian, lawyer, writer and Editor of Legal Technology Insider. Over the next 12 months law firms will once more be ramping up their investments in legal IT as the country climbs out of recession – [...]

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CIA torture… is this why UK wants secret evidence in court?

This seems horrific… is this why the UK government is so keen to have everything in court (Binyam Mohamed and Civil) heard in private? Caveat: I do not know about the weight given to this report because I don’t follow enough US material to judge – but do have a look.  Pretty heavy stuff if [...]

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Imagine….

Imagine a country where the right to trial by jury has been undermined, where an individual can be tried twice – the rule on double jeopardy abandoned – where well over 3000 new crimes have been enacted in the past ten years; where racial, sexuality and religious tensions are said to need the protection and [...]

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The Home Office has finally administered the coup de grace on common sense and civil liberties

The Times reports… Draconian police powers designed to deprive crime barons of luxury lifestyles are being extended to councils, quangos and agencies to use against the public, The Times has learnt. The right to search homes, seize cash, freeze bank accounts and confiscate property will be given to town hall officials and civilian investigators employed [...]

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Bitcher & Prickman…

Fellow Twitterers Bitcher and Prickman Plenty more  perceptive observations on the legal profession where this came from at LawComix

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Shock Horror: Charon may be related to Edward 1

The Daily Mail worries me, but in a week where there is actually quite important news  – The Daily Mail has come up with a story about inbreeding in the Royal Family. You have to have a quick look at this – to get the point… astonishing, however, how all the royals do look alike? [...]

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Lord Neuberger: A rather good speech..

I would like to draw your attention (if you have not already seen it) to a good speech by Lord Neuberger MR.  Amusingly, it includes a scripted slip of the tongue in para 14! LORD NEUBERGER OF ABBOTSBURY, MASTER OF THE ROLLS A JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE CONDUCT OF CLAIMS IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE Yes… [...]

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Comment du Jour: Genocidal maniacs, conmen…and other matters

The legal news over the last few days has thrown up some curious and interesting stories. Genocidal maniacs Yesterday we had Justice Minister and Lord Chancellor Jack Straw announcing that Britain would not become a haven for warlords and genocidal maniacs – which is reassuring given our history over centuries and, some would say, more [...]

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Inspiring…

This was sent to me by a good friend in Australia – an English barrister who lives out there now with her teenage boys. As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to “make a difference” in the world.  It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable [...]

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Chef Charon présente Boeuf Bourguignon

I could not cook many years ago…but now I can – simply by watching programmes on cookery, reading cook books, trying things out and by having had the good fortune to eat some very good meals in different parts of the world. I am not a foodie.  I just enjoy cooking and eating the results. [...]

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Blawg Review #235 from Counsel to Counsel

On this 80th Anniversary of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Counsel to Counsel hosts Blawg Review and dedicate Blawg Review #235 to The Great Recession. How has our current crisis changed the practice of law and affected our careers as attorneys? Fortunately for me, there was no shortage of reading material on the subject [...]

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College of Law Inside Track Podcast: Simon Myerson QC- Life at the Bar and advice on gaining pupillage

College of Law Inside Track Podcast: Simon Myerson QC- Life at the Bar and advice on gaining pupillage I talk to Simon Myerson QC. He considers the OLPAS form, the pupillage process, how best to prepare for pupillage interviews and the likely legal landscape for those who wish to join the Bar. He is generally [...]

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Religion… a Panopticon for the future?

I am a liberal atheist, by which I mean that I do not seek in any way to persuade others to my belief that there is no god of any kind, nor do I seek to encourage others to adopt a rationalist stance on the matter.  If people wish to believe in a god or [...]

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Postcard from The Staterooms-On-Sea: QT, BNP and OTT…..

Dear Reader, I write this week from my penthouse garret, replete with boeuf bourgignon cooked on my new slow cooker, and with no Professional Masterchef to watch, I shall in all probability take of the wine of the gods and do a spot of writing….. the results of which are set out below. Last night [...]

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Lawcast 158: The Bar Professional Training Course at Kaplan Law School

  Kaplan Law School Lawcast 158: The Bar Professional Training Course at Kaplan Law School   Today I am talking to James Wakefield director of the Bar course at Kaplan law School in London. From September 2010 the Bar Vocational Course BVC will be called the ‘Bar Professional Training Course’ BPTC. Kaplan has been validated [...]

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Lawcast 157: The High Court judgment in the Binyam Mohamed affair on disclosure

Head of Legal Blog Lawcast 157: The High Court judgment in the Binyam Mohamed affair on disclosure Today I am talking to Carl Gardner, ex government lawyer and author of the Head of Legal blog, about the recent Binyam Mohamed judgment on disclosure of information.. Listen to the podcast Podcast version for iTunes High Court [...]

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