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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.
Chair of the Bar reports back
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, outlines the drug and alcohol testing options available for family law professionals, and how a new, free guide can help identify the most appropriate testing method for each specific case
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the latest ONS data on drug misuse and its implications for toxicology testing in family law cases
A career shaped by advocacy beyond her practice, and the realities of living with an invisible disability – Dr Natasha Shotunde, Black Barristers’ Network Co-Founder and its Chair for seven years, reflects on a decade at the Bar
Responding to criticism on the narrow profile of government-instructed counsel, Mel Nebhrajani CB describes the system-wide change at GLD to drive fairer distribution of work and broader development of talent
The odds of success are as unforgiving as ever, but ambition clearly isn’t in short supply. David Wurtzel’s annual deep‑dive into the competition cohort shows who’s entering, who’s thriving and the trends that will define the next wave
Where to start and where to find help? Monisha Shah, Chair of the King’s Counsel Selection Panel, provides an overview of the silk selection process, debunking some myths along the way
Do chatbot providers owe a duty of care for negligent misstatements? Jasper Wong suggests that the principles applicable to humans should apply equally to machines
