Bon Vivant

A day in the life of a single mother at the Bar. By Gulshanah Choudhuri  

A typical day would see me crawling from my bed at around 7am, asking the girls to get up. Once the mele of breakfast is sorted, uniforms on, rucksacks packed, I head off to two different schools for my daughters. Rayhanah, aged 5, attends a private school not far from her sister, Ambreen, aged 8 and a half, whose school is a mile down the road. She is bright and sociable and attends a mainstream school, despite her having Down’s Syndrome. She’s very in tune to the day I’m at court or at work as I will have departed from my normal attire of tracksuit bottoms and make-up free face to other end of the spectrum: power suit, make up and jewellery, statement heels. Her reaction is always: “Work Mummy? Beautiful Mummy, like a princess,” followed by: “who pick you up?” 

Allergic reactions to press releases from the Ministry of Justice  

July 12, 2013: “Life could be horrible in the wrong trouser of time.” Terry Pratchett  

Barristers possess certain genetic self-protection, such as the ability to limit outbursts of terror, anger and panic to brief moments. The usual triggers for these uncontrollable emotions are entry into the Royal Courts of Justice (terror), a visit to the clerks’ room (anger) and listening to a client’s explanation of his defence (panic). The attacks are generally best alleviated by going into court and doing something, or going into El Vino’s and drinking something. Additional triggers, often evoking a combination of all three states at once, include communications from HMRC, the Bar Standards Board or the Bank. Drink is the preferred soporific in these cases. 

In a profession where reputations are prized and seniority is an obsession, the Annual Tournament of the Bar Golfing Society is a great leveller. Simon Goldstone and Guy Williams explain.  

The Bar Golfing Society has just played its Annual Tournament at Royal St. George’s, Sandwich. The tournament was won by HHJ Richard Bromilow (handicap of 5) 110 years after the first tournament was played down the ancient highway at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club (Deal). This year’s Final was a particularly close affair, Bromilow beating Jonathan Furness QC on the 19th hole. The golf improved along with the weather as the week progressed. Taking place annually in Whit week, the tournament rotates between Sandwich, Deal, and Rye, with occasional forays to Hunstanton and Royal Birkdale. The standard of golf course is therefore uniformly high, each tournament contested on one of the best England can offer, and at substantially discounted rates. The standard of golf is considerably more mixed. Every entrant believes he or she has a genuine chance of winning; golfers of all standards are warmly welcomed; the tournament expects to see eagles and air shots equally. 

Paul Magrath provides an overview of current guidance for Litigants in Person  

Family Courts without a Lawyer: A Handbook for Litigants in Person, by Lucy Reed (Bath Publishing, 350pp, £29)
Small Claims Procedure in the County Court, by Patricia Pearl and Andrew Goodman (Wildy, Simmonds and Hill, 309pp, £19.99)
Representing Yourself In Court: Guide to Civil Law, by Francis Manyika (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 104pp, £28.68)
A Guide to Representing Yourself in Court, The Bar Council (72pp, free)
A Guide to Bringing and Defending a Small Claim, Civil Justice Council (30pp, free). 

H.H. Judge Peter Murphy talks to Counsel about his novel, A Higher Duty  

Why write a novel about barristers?  This is really two questions in one, isn’t it? First, why write a novel at all? Second, why write a novel about barristers? 

A minute’s silence for the passing of the legal aid sytem 

June 10, 2013: “Nothing’s sacred to those devils.” Batman (Adam West) 

Short of bumping into the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the way to the Bailey, things could not feel more eschatological. Arriving, I spotted what looked like a huge number of nicotine-addicted barristers congregating on the pavement outside the entrance. Hetty Briar-Pitt, my junior, barred my entry and forced me, like a shy horse, into their ranks. It dawned on me then that this was, in fact, a minute’s silence for the passing of the legal aid system. 

Nigel Pascoe QC reviews the recent staging of Judgement at Nuremberg at the Bridewell Theatre to which lawyer-actors brought their forensic skills  

Judging the Judges is a diverting philosophical exercise. The Bar are at it every day. But in the third Nuremberg trial it happened with a vengeance when four Nazi Judges faced an American panel of three. Was it to be victor’s justice and the least they deserved? Or were there real defences in law which could be deployed? 

In recent years, Judgement at Nuremberg  has been staged at the Tricycle Theatre as well as other lawyer’s productions, including 12 Angry Men, Inherit The Wind  and To Kill a Mockingbird ; all directed very successfully by Sally Knyvette. Any lawyer-actors would love the chance to bring their forensic skills to a professional venue and professionally directed, they can bring authentic attack and real flair to these classic court-room dramas: so again with this new staging at the Bridewell Theatre. The great virtue of this compelling play is that without ever losing its moral core, it is pretty even-handed in examining the issues and particularly who knew what of the Holocaust in legal and civilian circles. It reaches the right conclusion, but in the process, also allows us to follow the fall of a great but flawed German judge. Unlike his co-defendants whom he despises, this Judge has the moral courage to condemn himself. In dramatic terms then, a stonking great speech for a lawyer-actor and a marvellous central part - the fair and modest small-town American Judge. 

Sadness that the dumbing down of the office of Lord Chancellor has inevitably led to a lack of protection for an independent legal profession 

May 6, 2013: “I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.” William F. Buckley, Jr.  

When I was a sixth-former, I decided to try for Oxford. In those days, there was an Entrance Examination. My Headmaster suggested I practise the General Paper. The first question was “Might you as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb?” Entirely missing the point, I wrote what I thought to be a humorous piece about the virtues of capital punishment. It was returned sporting a “Delta” and the comment: “You’re in the Sixth Form now. Grow Up.” 

David Wurtzel reviews The Winslow Boy – a tale of a family’s sacrifice as it fights to clear the name of an innocent son  

The Winslow Boy was first performed in May 1946. Watching it now at the Old Vic, one is struck by how much more “relevant” it has become. A plethora of issues comes alive, again and again, in this brilliant production in which every performance is pitch-perfect. 

Youth Court Guide (5th edition) 
ISBN: 978 184766 982 7
October 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Price: £70 

Youth Court hearings can be much more complicated than is often assumed. Leaving aside for a moment the fact that you are dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in society – children – and all the added complications that come with that, there are differences in procedure, court composition and sentencing to contend with. How convenient then to have these differences set out in one easy to read handbook.