36 BACK BENCH WHO ARE YOU GONNA CALL...


» Lawyers really are fearless when it comes to pursuing alternative careers. First we


brought you the human cannonball, now we present the night watchperson at a reputedly haunted London theatre. Corporate lawyer Holly Boyd beat fierce


competition from 500 applicants to secure the job at the Arts Theatre, which had witnessed spooky goings-on. A camera in the auditorium turned itself on and took photos overnight, while another left running recorded a theatre seat falling down of its own accord. Obiter tried to get hold of the fearless


ghostbuster Boyd, but to no avail. We trust our lack of success does not mean she has been spirited away.


www.lawgazette.co.uk


23 June 2014 DYSON SUCKS UP MITCHELL GUIDANCE CRITICISM


» Obiter has never seen a courtroom as busy as for last week’s three-pronged scrimmage in the Court of Appeal on case management rules. It was action all the way as Master of the


Rolls Lord Dyson, flanked by the man himself, Jackson LJ, sought to come up with new guidelines on three cases surrounding relief from sanctions for non-compliance. The irony of the hearings starting almost


30 minutes late was not lost on lawyers about to argue that judges were being too harsh on missed deadlines. And there was plenty of light relief to


relieve the tension: one of the late witness statements up for debate was filed by a Mr Goodenough (presumably it wasn’t), while


one barrister mentioned that a previous hearing had been presided over by a ‘grumpy judge’. ‘You may well have another one soon,’


retorted Dyson. Of course, some may question the wisdom


of having the creator of sanctions guidelines (Dyson) and the creator of the rules that required those guidelines (Jackson) hearing these cases. But Dyson was keen to stress that he was


not precious about criticism of his judgment in the Mitchell appeal last year. ‘In Mitchell I attempted - albeit not


too successfully - to provide some guid- ance,’ conceded the MR – with masterly understatement.


The Law Society Gazette, 24 June 2004 Legal help and triple Clubcard points at Tesco ‘Tesco law’ took a step closer to real- ity this week after the supermarket giant launched an on-line legal store offering shoppers the chance to buy self-help legal solu- tions alongside their groceries. Tesco has linked up with legal DIY publisher Lawpack to provide a range of DIY kits and forms covering 17 legal topics, such as accident claims, property and employment law ‘at great value prices’.


Lammy attacks City giants Magic circle firms were defiant last week fol- lowing Department for Constitutional Affairs minister David Lammy’s attack on the lack of black and ethnic minority partners at the larg- est City firms. A spokesman for Clifford Chance said it was committed to diversity through its involvement with the Afro-Caribbean diversity group and the Legal Diversity Forum.


22 June 1994 Prettys’ TV ad attraction TV advertising by law firms has been tried only a few times in this county. But Ipswich firm Prettys is hoping to raise its profile with an innovative campaign which began on Anglia Television this month. The 30-second advertisement makes animated use of Prettys’ red seal logo which bumps, jumps and gyrates around the screen to the accompaniment of an authoritative-sounding male voice-over.


THIRD ENCORE FOR LAWLESS BROOK


» These cool dudes go by the name F-Lawless. The band,


from Guildford property development firm GCL Solic- itors, fought off competition from 3 Paper Buildings, Mano- lete Partners, Freshfields and Kidd Rapinet to take the top spot in the legal industry’s bat- tle of the bands competition at London’s 100 Club. Bassist Simon Brook, a residential property develop- ment solicitor, has now won the competition three times in a row. Joining him on stage were vocalists solicitor Claire Speller and paralegal Saman- tha Flack, and drummer para- legal Lawrence Ambett. Brook describes F-Lawless’s


style as ‘chart-punk-dance- rock-blues’. The next battle of the bands is on 13 November at the 100 Club. Funds raised are divided between charities nominated by the bands.


20 June 1984 Conveyancers Law School ‘Be a professional in a £1.2bn market’, adver- tises the Conveyancers Law School, who tells its readers that the government intends to remove the conveyancing monopoly and adds ‘become a non-solicitor lawyer by qualifying as a conveyancer’. Six months’ training begins with an intensive 14-day residential course at a polytechnic: fees are £1,725 plus VAT.


I wonder how many of our profession are involved in teaching the non-solicitor lawyer? (I prefer that title to ‘licensed conveyancer’!)


26 June 1974 Civility to prisoners from the bench Surely even a member of (or prospective entrant to) the criminal class (after all only a human being – often underprivileged or otherwise thwarted by life) is entitled to basic human decency from another, even if the other is an exalted judge? Fundamental courtesy aside, a judge who wanders from the path of impartiality strikes at the very system he strives to maintain: what juryman doubts a charge when a judge appears against the defence as testy, caustic and sarcastic, albeit attired as a king’s clown?


OBITER


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