Bon Vivant

When should clients feel satisfied with our services?  

‘You’ve got to keep reinventing. You’ll have new competitors. You’ll have new customers all around you’ – Ginni Rometty 

Rachel Spearing introduces the UK’s first Wellness for Law Forum  

March saw the launch of a new initiative to support ongoing work to improve health and wellbeing at the Bar.  

A fresh coat of paint reveals uncared for buildings 

'The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining'  – John F Kennedy 

A new selection of paintings of the London skyline is currently brightening up the walls of the Rolls Building in Fetter Lane.  

If you put a man in harm’s way then realise you made a mistake, shouldn’t you at least try to make amends? 100 years on, David Hewitt examines the case of Joseph Blackburn who didn’t want to go to war and fought only because a military tribunal forced him to  

During the Great War, the task of deciding whether men must fight or could be given exemption was usually performed by a local tribunal.  

Bar Musical Society, Middle Temple Hall, November 2016  

It has been a fine tradition of the Middle Temple to put on a concert for children towards Christmas every year.  

Teatro Technis, London, 11-22 January
Written and performed by Tayo Aluko, with live piano accompaniment. Directed by Amanda Huxtable. Designed by Emma Williams  

Dermot Feenan explores the place of compassion in legal practice  

The Family Law Bar Association obituary of Sir Nicholas Wall, formerly President of the Family Division, stated Sir Nicholas was a compassionate judge who ‘thought and cared deeply about the outcome of his cases’ – a reminder that justice and compassion are not seen to be necessarily incompatible. There are many reasons why compassion has a role to play in practice. 

A digital case revives tragic memories  

'It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lighteneed the day's toil of any human being' – John Stuart Mill 

Counsel interviews The Secret Barrister, who started out as a counterweight to media misinformation and is the third legal commentator in a row named Independent Blogger of the Year (Comment Awards 2016)  

Where did the inspiration come from for the blog?