With a bit of time on my hands tonight, and in the mood to wander about the net looking at law blogs and the legal press, I thought I would bring you a few interesting stories I found….
Warming the bench for solicitors – from the Law Society Gazette: Frances Kirkham, a senior circuit judge and JAC commissioner writes about a joint plan to support more solicitors who wish to join the judiciary. She notes – “What is disappointing is that the analysis also shows there has been little difference in the percentage of solicitors applying for most roles over the past 10 years.” Read….
I can understand that City lawyers may not be attracted by a judicial post (and would they really be that good in the broad nature of Circuit judge cases, given the highly specialist nature of their work?) but it must be in our interests to draw judges from a wider pool than we have done in the past?
And I did enjoy reading about lawyers sinning…. Legal professionals reveal ‘sins’ in survey. Unfortunately, it was not salacious….. “One in four lawyers and legal professionals does online shopping at work, while one in eight confesses to doing something at an office party that they later regretted, a recent survey of 500 members of the profession has revealed. Research by twosteps online job board also found that 50% of legal professionals said they would be ‘helpless’ without their iPhone or Blackberry.”
Helpless without their iPhones or Blackberry?….. Indeed.
MI5 and MI6 secrecy move ‘threatens press freedoms’
A rather more serious topic from Guardian Media: “Lawyers representing media outlets argue against government efforts to bring ‘special advocate procedures’ to civil trials. Proposals by MI5 and MI6 to extend courtroom secrecy to civil trials would unfairly restrict the right of the media to act as the “eyes and ears” of the public, the supreme court heard today.”
And… on the subject of….Obiter J has a fascinating post…..
Secrecy in Civil Cases … (Mis)use of Libel actions … Law Commission report
And above is Bentham in all his glory stuffed in a glass case at UCL ….complete with head at his feet.
And… over to the UKSC Blog – an excellent resource for analysis of Supreme Court decisions
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
The former leader of the Conservative Party has claimed today that “more and more decisions are being made by unaccountable judges”. Essentially making the ‘green light’ argument that judicial intereference with politicians’ decisions should be limited in scope, Lord Howard said: “Judges are unaccountable and unelected and ought to be very reluctant indeed to set aside decisions of this kind”.
I’m afraid I always conjure up this wonderful cartoon by Steve Bell when I read about Michael Howard.
Tachetastic….?
After nearly 30 years of suit and brogue wearing while I carried out life in a previous incarnation…. I took to growing taches a couple of years ago. I get bored soon enough and shave them off… but at Christmas last, given that it was snowing… snow on an apocalyptic scale, snow that Chancellor Osbore would reveal today on BBC Radio 4 and sundry other media outlets…was the wrong kind of snow for the 0.5% contracting British economy…. I grew a tache. This picture (in fact taken by @Geeklawyer eighteen months or so back – which I fiddled with in Photoshop to get that film noir look ) – shows the tache roughly as it is today. I think I shall keep it for a while…. I am speaking on a few panel discussion group evenings…and a blawger needs a tache to do that…. trust me.
I didn’t have time to blog yesterday. Work got in the way… although it was enjoyable work. Done a bit more today…below… so… on to the morrow.
Sláinte – for Burn’s night…..
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin’-race!
Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy of a grace
As lang’s my arm.
Some hae meat and cannae eat. Some would eat that want it. But we hae meat and we can eat. Sae let the Lord be thankit …
Hi, I noticed you read the article ‘Legal professionals reveal ‘sins’ in survey’ on the Law Society Gazette. I’d just thought I would mention that you can request a full report of the twosteps survey from:
http://twosteps.com/resources/articles/50/94/request-our-2010-salary-survey-report.html
It will give facts and statistics on salaries within the legal profession across the globe which you might find interesting.
Bentham doesn’t look at all well, does he?
White Rabbit – seasonal flu, I suspect.
Charon – That would explain it. That and being (very) dead, decapitated and if my memory serves me well stuffed with straw.
If poor Bentham had a grave he would be turning in it !
I remember seeing Bentham on Crime and Punishment a documentary on discover history Interesting show