Dear Reader
I am a bit late with my postcard this week. Got tied up with Lord Shagger (posts below) and the World Cup and taking on plenty of liquids, on doctor’s orders after a 24 hour bout of recurrent malaria on Friday. I contracted Malaria (and survived, obviously) many years ago in Africa. They say that it does not recur – but all I can tell you is that every 6-9 months I spend a day shivering and then sweating. Not a pleasant activity but I am restored to full strength now. I was not, as @infobunny suggested, being ‘fashionable’ – a reference to Cheryl Cole’s serious attack.
My attention was caught earlier this evening by an article in The Law Society Gazette.
Barristers seek partnership with solicitors
This would for some of my friends at the Bar either be an irrelevance or an apostasy.
Rachel Rothwell writes : “Some 43% of barristers would like to go into business with solicitors, research commissioned by bar regulator the Bar Standards Board has shown today.A YouGov survey of nearly 2,000 barristers and 141 clerks and practice managers revealed that 43% said they would be interested in becoming a manager alongside a solicitor, while 23% would be interested in management alongside non-lawyers.
The bit I liked I have quoted in my cartoon above. It does not surprise me that only a third of barristers said they had a good understanding of the LSA. My own straw poll indicated a very much lower figure – this may, of course, be ascribed to supreme indifference to the whole thing.
Solicitors are certainly punting it out there, hyperventilating about SOCIAL MEDIA. Muttley Dastardly LLP issued a helpful bulletin advising solicitors how they may make best use of social media and twitter a few weeks ago. The Law Society Gazette is at it again with advice on Social media, linked-In etc etc etc.
Is social networking really appropriate for lawyers?
Clare Rodway writes: “Here are some of the typical comments we hear as we talk to lawyers and their in-house marketing teams: I’m not sure about all this hype around social media. I’m not sure if social networking has any relevance to a law firm. I can see that more and more business people are active on the networks, but are they really appropriate places for lawyers to be seen? LinkedIn is becoming quite popular with lawyers, but I can’t see how Twitter is relevant. Does anyone get any business from any of this networking? What’s the return on investment? Help! My managing partner has asked me to develop a social media strategy for the firm and I don’t know where to start!
~My advice? Don’t even think about it. I am, naturally, quite happy to charge you a substantial sum of money (double if you wish to consult after 6.00 pm) to tell you why you should be very careful about using Social Media to promote your law business! I’ll give you a hint. If you don’t *get* twitter you could make a monumental pig’s ear of it. But… hey… who am I to stop lawyers making a pig’s ear of things?
Sterilise claimants urges racist H M Treasury website!
Oh Dear. Osbore & Beaker don’t really *do* social media. The latest gaffe is not to moderate the website they set up asking for people to suggest ways of cutting the deficit. Moderating comments is sometimes a good idea. There are professional agitators and professional nutters out there who enjoy undermining everything. Unfortunately, I suspect, many of the comments come from real nutters.
I quote from a newsletter… “This is a single issue newsletter asking for your urgent help in getting a government website closed down. The site, set up by the treasury to allow people to suggest ways to cut government spending, is full of hate-filled racist and disablist suggestions, including the sterilisation of benefits claimants, the return of the workhouse and the forced repatriation of asylum seekers and migrants. Some of the site’s content is so extreme it may even constitute a criminal offence.
The Spending Challenge website was set up on Friday by the coalition government and features an introduction and video on its home page by chancellor George Osborne.
I really liked this. Good on him and his family….
Holocaust Survivor Dances to ‘I Will Survive’ at Concentration Camp
A Holocaust survivor — along with his children and grandchildren — danced to Gloria Gaynor at concentration camps throughout Europe. Says the video’s uploader, “This dance is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit and a celebration of life.” Watch the film. Excellent.
And finally…. Twitter can be very enjoyable and amusing. @Nipclaw is a very serious barrister who enjoys and uses twitter well. I have known her for many years. The trouble is… I may have seen too many “Carry On” films in my ‘childhood’ and, therefore, just cannot resist her latest tweet this evening – pregnant with several meanings for people like me with too much time on my hands tonight. I may burn in the fires of hell. There are drawbacks to only 140 characters on twitter.
A short postcard… much to do.
Best, as always
Charon
Hey, you know what I think? You’re overcookin’ it! Don’t over cook it! Its like a piece O’ charcoal!!!!!
Thats the feckin’ news. As for the “nutter” suggesting cutting off peoples’ kneecaps because they can’t afford to go to Paris and have their knees buttered for them, I can totally agree with that. fOR gHOD’S SAKE, IF THEY HAVEN’T THE money to take as little trip abroad then they obviously don’t deserve to live, do they? Fuck them and all the shutters that they sail in. Gawd.
I may have over-reacted there just a little bit. Please excuse me. I read ” forced repatriation of asylum seekers and migrants. and immediately telephoned all of my relatives.
Let me tell you, I am a fifth generation Scot. Without ma type you wouldnae have the fried mars bar, the deep fried pizza in batter OR the late night packet O’ fags from the Pakki shop. You dinnae know whit side yur bread is buttered, pal!
Peace be on yer pal
Tarquin
Oh, just a wee request. Can ah lend a fiver aff ye till tueday? promise I’ll pay it back when me giro comes in…. thanx pal..