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By coincidence the day I received my copy of the January edition of Counsel (as a retired barrister who still has some interest in his former profession), I also received The Times reproduction of its first edition (in the guise of “The Daily Universal Register”) of 1 January 1785.
Counsel ran an article about the making of “Garrow’s Law” (pp 27 to 29). The BBC One series portrayed a barrister who was the champion of the underdog, supporter of seemingly lost causes and a generally selfless and often ill-remunerated pioneer of defence advocacy.
Of course he may have been all of these things, but in the Daily Universal Register (p 2, fourth column) there appears a report of the adjourned examination of Mr Turner, a bankrupt. His counsel, Mr Morgan, pleaded for time to satisfy his creditors, sought “the indulgence due to innocence” and cited “the severity of the laws with respect to bankrupts”. Counsel for the creditors would have none of this: he “was of opinion that poverty or any other worldly inconvenience could not lead an honest man from the paths of probity ... He further asserted that Mr Turner had been treated with unexampled lenity and favour ... he feared that his indulgence to the prisoner (bankrupt) would draw on him the displeasure of his clients”. Counsel’s name? Mr Garrow.
David Jeffreys QC
Of course he may have been all of these things, but in the Daily Universal Register (p 2, fourth column) there appears a report of the adjourned examination of Mr Turner, a bankrupt. His counsel, Mr Morgan, pleaded for time to satisfy his creditors, sought “the indulgence due to innocence” and cited “the severity of the laws with respect to bankrupts”. Counsel for the creditors would have none of this: he “was of opinion that poverty or any other worldly inconvenience could not lead an honest man from the paths of probity ... He further asserted that Mr Turner had been treated with unexampled lenity and favour ... he feared that his indulgence to the prisoner (bankrupt) would draw on him the displeasure of his clients”. Counsel’s name? Mr Garrow.
David Jeffreys QC
By coincidence the day I received my copy of the January edition of Counsel (as a retired barrister who still has some interest in his former profession), I also received The Times reproduction of its first edition (in the guise of “The Daily Universal Register”) of 1 January 1785.
Counsel ran an article about the making of “Garrow’s Law” (pp 27 to 29). The BBC One series portrayed a barrister who was the champion of the underdog, supporter of seemingly lost causes and a generally selfless and often ill-remunerated pioneer of defence advocacy.
The Bar Council will press for investment in justice at party conferences, the Chancellor’s Budget and Spending Review
Equip yourself for your new career at the Bar
Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth explores some key steps to take when starting out as a barrister in order to secure your financial future
Millicent Wild of 5 Essex Chambers describes her pupillage experience
Drug, alcohol and DNA testing laboratory AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Juno Women’s Aid in Nottingham as part of its Giving Back campaign
Casedo explains how to hit the ground running on your next case with a four-step plan to transform the way you work
If you are in/about to start pupillage, you will soon be facing the pupillage stage assessment in professional ethics. Jane Hutton and Patrick Ryan outline exam format and tactics
In a two-part opinion series, James Onalaja considers the International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s requests for arrest warrants in the controversial Israel-Palestine situation
To mark the fifth anniversary of the Bar Standards Board’s Race Equality Taskforce, Dee Sekar reflects on key milestones, the role of regulation in race equality, and calls for views on the upcoming equality rules consultation
Daniel Barnett serves up a host of summer shows
Britain needs to get over its shameful denial of racism, call it what it is and start to effectively deal with the problem, says Vithyah Chelvam
