Features

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, who died in September 2010, possessed intellectual qualities of a rare kind, writes Lord Justice Sedley 

No reader of Counsel needs to be reminded of the remarkable career trajectory of Tom Bingham, from Queen’s Bench judge and Lord Justice of Appeal through the offices of Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice to the (anomalously inferior) post of Senior Law Lord. What may have been forgotten is that the last of these posts was created for him by Derry Irvine. 

What are the advocate’s emotional drivers when conducting a cross-examination, wonders Professor Penny Cooper. The ability to continually assess the witness’s demeanour and adjust one’s questioning is crucial, she concludes.  

In 1905 in The Art of Cross-examination, Francis Wellman wrote “It requires the greatest ingenuity; a habit of logical thought; clearness of perception in general; infinite patience and self-control; power to read men’s minds intuitively, to judge of their character by their faces, to appreciate their motives; ability to act with force and precision; a masterful knowledge of the subject-matter itself; an extreme caution; and, above all, the instinct to discover the weak point in the witness under cross-examination.” 

Position: Barrister
Chambers: 3-4 South Square 

You’ve worked on all the leading cross-border insolvency cases. Which ones have engaged you the most?

I really enjoy legally and factually difficult cases and I’m as happy to work for a large client as for a smaller client. Recent cases of particular interest include Stanford (the first case on the Cross Border Insolvency Regulation) for the US receiver against the Antiguan liquidators. The interaction between the two sets of office holders caused a lot of difficulty. 

Siobhan Grey discusses the Tate Modern and Gray’s Inn symposium on voyeurism, privacy, censorship and surveillance 

The curtain has now fallen on “Exposed” the Tate Modern’s provocative photographic exhibition. It skilfully captured the political and cultural zeitgeist through an exploration of the themes of voyeurism, privacy and surveillance and raised important ethical questions about the taking of illicit or covert photographs. 

Towards the end of his training contract, the author decided to transfer to the Bar. He also applied for newly-qualified positions as a solicitor. He describes a Summer of over 60 interviews, comparing chambers’ interviews with those conducted by City law firms 

Towards the end of my training contract at a “magic circle” firm, I decided to pursue my long-held ambition to transfer to the Bar. So began the quest for one of the 460 pupillages contested by over 4,000 applicants. With these statistics and the current job market in mind, I also applied for newly-qualified (“NQ”) litigation positions in City law firms, making it clear that I was also applying for pupillage and, if offered a position, I could only work for a year before starting pupillage. 

Elizabeth Cleaver hopes that the recently adopted European guidelines on child-friendly justice will result in substantial changes in the UK’s treatment of children within the courts 

On 17 November 2010, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted new Guidelines on Child-Friendly Justice “to serve as a practical tool for member states in adapting their judicial and non-judicial systems to the specific rights, interests and needs of children.” 

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. 

Chris McWatters believes that the FLBA Chairman will need all his diplomatic wizardry to deal with the fizzing brew of change facing the Family Bar 

Chris McWatters believes that the FLBA Chairman will need all his diplomatic wizardry to deal with the fizzing brew of change facing the Family Bar 

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.