Counsel Magazine

RARELY, in my experience, is a talk is so gripping and helpful that you wish it was longer. A packed Inner Temple Hall was treated to such a talk by Jonathan Sumption QC on 29 September 2009. His subject was Appellate Advocacy.

Throughout the talk he delighted the 300-strong audience with quips such as “Appellate judges are bigger than you and they hunt in packs”. These mild digs at the judges reminded everyone that this speaker was not a judge but a practising barrister like them. Jonathan shared some instructive insights into the judicial mind based on his experience. He said that judges had become less reverent of authority than in the past and that they cited fewer cases in their judgments these days. There was now a tendency to set out broad principles of law exemplified by the authorities across a range of subjects rather than applying authorities directly to the case being decided. He also noted and welcomed an increasing willingness by judges to consider the social and economic implications of their decisions in their judgments.