It can’t just be barristers who keep digging long after they should have stopped. Geeklawyer pointed to an episode recently where a barrister behaved rather badly with a fellow blogger, stories are legion about barristers taking wrong or bad points in court or not getting the point or to the point and now we have a marvelllous BabyBaristaesque farce going on between Troubled Barrister and Ed on Simon Myerson QC’s blog Pupillage and how to get it.
In fairness.. I am not entirely sure whether Troubled Barrister is just doing a wind up and having been a gravedigger when I was at law school, I did offer him my spade if he wanted to dig an even bigger hole.
Briefly: Simon Myerson QC has put up a post naming and shaming Chambers where prospective barristers have written to him/commented on his blog about the negative experiences (and the good experiences) they have had with Chambers when applying for pupillage.
TroubledBarrister (To use the name style of Tim Kevan’s BabyBarista) weighs in with... “…I think it is a bit unfair to get people to “anonymously” call out chambers and even more so individual people. If you think they are being nasty then just wait until you in front of LJ this case is beneath me or HHJ I am going to take your client’s crap case on you.”
Ed // July 15, 2009 at 5:20 pm | Reply
@Troubled Barrister
So you don’t think it’s unprofessional to treat job applicants with contempt?
Troubled Barrister // July 15, 2009 at 6:17 pm | Reply
What a stupid rhetorical question, in short alot of you need to toughen up a bit. It is a nasty world out there!
Horse With No Name // July 15, 2009 at 11:39 pm | Reply
Dear Troubled Barrister,
It may well be a nasty world but is that an excuse for rudeness?
Ed // July 15, 2009 at 11:58 pm | Reply
@Troubled Barrister
Hit a nerve, did I? Poor lamb. “Other people behave like poo-poos to those they have power over, so I must too, or they won’t think I’m rock-hard”.
Don’t worry, TB. I think you’re rock-hard. We all think that. Honestly.
Troubled Barrister // July 16, 2009 at 1:00 am | Reply
I wont dignify Ed with a response to his extremely immature post.
Horse – of course it doesnt make it right being rude; however, there is no sense crying about it. I know very well the heart ache of trying to find pupillage and how it can be a frustrating an upsetting experience it can be.
Calling out chambers and individuals is:
a)Serves very little purpose
b) Just plain wrong if people are going to do it from behind a computer screen
simonmyerson // July 16, 2009 at 1:25 am | Reply
Sorry TB – you’re wrong.
I don’t disagree that comments about individuals are unhelpful, but I reckon that anyone who is Head of Chambers and in silk will recognise frustration for what it is and – as you insist – be tough enough to take it.
That is a side issue. You say that you know how hard it is to get pupillage but it’s not ok to say anything about the things that make it not simply hard, but unacceptable. Sorry: I don’t understand how that works.
Then you write a frankly insulting comment to an applicant – you being in a position of power compared to them – and then you complain that they are calling people out anonymously. I’ve looked you up in the Bar list – can’t find anyone named Barrister, Troubled.
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I do urge you to go and read the rest of it. Maybe Tim Kevan was closer to life with his BabyBarista book than he anticipated…. marvellous stuff… and I now know what the phrase “See you next Tuesday” stands for… so one learns something every day.
Excellent!
Charon QC 