Practice Toolset

Andrew Otchie on the highlights of the American Bar Association annual meeting.  

The American Bar Association (“ABA”) annual meeting is a big event. The 2010 conference in San Francisco California between 5 and 10 August was no exception. The various sections, divisions and forums of the ABA offer such a broad range of seminars to discuss the contemporary and controversial legal issues in America – with the focus this year on same-sex marriage, anticipatory self-defence in international law, marijuana regulation, and Facebook – that choosing which seminars to attend and navigating through the 288 page programme to the appropriate venue is quite a task in itself. 

St Albans Syndrome, Woolwich Worm and other ailments. Christopher Kinch QC reports on the latest outbreaks.  

You might think that things were hard enough at the criminal Bar these days without the judiciary starting to show signs of reverting to the bad old days of cantankerous and difficult judges. It is within living memory that when counsel failed to curtail his submission before the then resident judge at Southwark he was allowed a period of reflection in the court cells. Isn’t it all supposed to be different now with a modern judiciary all schooled and refreshed by the JSB at those arduous seminars at Warwick? There are signs that some judges may be falling into bad habits, or perhaps there is something in the judicial water flasks that is proving a source of infection. Whatever the cause, it seems about time for some health advice to any member of the Bar finding themselves confronted by signs of judicial malady. 

David Wurtzel looks through old issues. The rhetoric is the same, he concludes 

Lord Justice Toulson discusses the forthcoming selection for seven criminal law Senior Circuit Judge appointments.  

There will soon be a rare opportunity to apply for a significant number of criminal law Senior Circuit Judge roles across the country, including the Old Bailey where for the first time there is to be a vacancy for a judge to work for a reduced number of days. 

Nigel Pascoe QC raises his glass to celebrate Counsel's 25th anniversary 

And so, dear reader, which is it to be: a magnum of champagne or a small glass of dry sherry to celebrate a modest achievement?  Probably somewhere between the two .  Counsel has reached its 25th birthday in reasonable shape with a continuing selection of readable articles and more friends than implacable enemies.  Let that not sound too complacent.  There will always be angry readers believing, as with Punch, that it is not the magazine they remember.  In a sense they are quite right.  Counsel continues to evolve, but a discernable independent spirit still exists which continues to mirror the extraordinary panorama of the practicing and employed bar. 

Gavin Purves explains why Counsel was established and charts its development 

Kathryn Stone OBE and Professor Karen Bryan offer advice on identifying and communicating with witnesses with learning difficulties    

John Curtis investigates the use of Shakespeare’s quotes in legal judgments 

Sam Stein QC explains why it’s time to regulate advocacy.  

Consumers are used to making decisions in all aspects of their lives based on their perception of the quality of particular goods or services. They are able to take comfort that consumer goods have been through rigorous checks and are signed off as being fit for purpose before they are sold. The consumer also believes that professionals such as accountants or financial advisers have achieved standards set by their professional bodies and undertaken regular assessments to ensure that they meet the standards expected of them, as do the firm in which they operate. 

QC competency interviews can make even the smoothest lawyers trip up, believes James Hutchinson.  

Mark* peers at me over his spectacles, a look of mild horror spreading over his face. He’s an experienced, successful Chancery counsel in his early 40s and everything I expected: smooth talking, confident and urbane. Five minutes earlier, Mark had wafted confidently into his room in chambers. This is a man who spends his life speaking in court or telling the rich and influential what they can and can’t do. And yet here he was: speechless.