Bon Vivant

Dermot Feenan explores the place of compassion in legal practice  

The Family Law Bar Association obituary of Sir Nicholas Wall, formerly President of the Family Division, stated Sir Nicholas was a compassionate judge who ‘thought and cared deeply about the outcome of his cases’ – a reminder that justice and compassion are not seen to be necessarily incompatible. There are many reasons why compassion has a role to play in practice. 

Counsel interviews The Secret Barrister, who started out as a counterweight to media misinformation and is the third legal commentator in a row named Independent Blogger of the Year (Comment Awards 2016)  

Where did the inspiration come from for the blog? 

A digital case revives tragic memories  

'It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lighteneed the day's toil of any human being' – John Stuart Mill 

Chance meetings produce a traditional Christmas  

‘Revenge is profitable; gratitude is expensive.’ – Edward Gibbon 

Author: Stephen Gold
Publisher: Bath Publishing (2016) 
Format: Paperback 517pp and e-book 
ISBN: 9780993583605 

Directed by Emmy Award® winner Mick Jackson (Temple Grandin ) and adapted for the screen by BAFTA and Academy Award® nominated writer David Hare (The Reader ).
Release date: 27 January 

Author: Philippe Sands
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (2016)
Format: Hardcover 496pp and e-book
​ISBN: 9781474601900 

Edited by: Ros Burnett
Publisher: Oxford University Press (2016)
Format: Hardcover 336pp 
​ISBN: 9780198723301 

Law confidential?  

'A secret spoken finds wings'  – Robert Jordan, The Path of Daggers   

Following the capsizing uncertainty generated by Brexit, the general public and businesses are increasingly looking for answers. No surprise, then, that the Bar has become a rich source of reliable and politically neutral information on a wide range of complex legal issues, deciphering events as they happen. Counsel brings you the cream of the Brexit Bar blog crop