Class Walls

So a story in the Guardian reports Geraldine van Beuren's calls for more working class lawyers to out themselves. Having once been described as the gayest heterosexual man on the planet,* I feel a bit of outing might be appropriate. My parents certainly regarded themselves as working-class Geordies. It used to be the case that …

Ethically dysfunctional: the problem with designation in leveraged finance

Trevor Clark The Lawyer has kindly allowed me to reproduce the text of my opinion piece, published on Tuesday. Last week The Lawyer reported that lenders on the recent £3.5bn financing of The Access Group were dissatisfied with the role played by their lawyers, and with the designation model under which they were appointed. My …

President of Nowhere? Some points on Lord Neuberger being drawn into the PO Scandal

Well, how very rude I can hear the great and the good of the legal profession say. You can’t diss David Neuberger the former President of the Supreme Court KC. He's ace. So let me begin in another way, as this is partly a story of how the network, any network, the establishment, the profession, …

Trust and Ethics, has the legal sector lost its way?

I was asked to put up the text of my introduction to yesterday's LSB panel event on lawyers' ethics,. For those who don’t know, I write various things on lawyers and often on lawyers' ethics. In recent years I have covered allegations of some seriousness against lawyers in: Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Allen & Overy, Herbert …

On Substack I have been blogging a detailed critique of an independent review conducted for the Post Office Chairman. It’s lessons are of more general import. Indecent reviews often lack independence for a variety of reasons. So, I am publishing the summary here too. stream of posts is a critique that has the benefit of …

Don’t Pannick, the Lawfare Boomerang

Lord Pannick’s opinion on behalf of Boris Johnson continues to make the news. There is a suggestion this is was a misuse of public funds by the Johnson Government. Interestingly too, the Commons Committee savaged by his opinion has raised a stern retort. I am not going to analyse the opinion in depth. It is …

Not taking secrets to the grave (oh and Independent Investigations NDAs again (AGAIN!))

Ben White of Crafty Counsel has posted a really interesting interview with Pav Gill, former Head of Legal for Wirecard's Asia Pacific Region. I urge you to listen, whether lawyer or not. It draws out the story wonderfully and succinctly. Lawyers may find the quiet terror of it discomforting. I set out here quick outline …

The Unethical Environmental Lawyer – Inaugural Lecture on 13 October

Are lawyers who help their clients achieve 'perfectly legal' environmental harms acting unethically? Come hear more at the inaugural lecture of Professor Steven Vaughan at UCL's Faculty of Laws on 13 October at 6pm. This public lecture, open to all, will be in person and live streamed. Inaugurals are traditional lectures given in public to …

The Fog of Lawfare

There’s been quite a brouhaha about David Pannick’s opinion with Jason Pobjoy for Boris Johnson. They argue that in considering whether Boris Johnson committed contempt as a result of misleading parliament, he should have the right to have a lawyer represent him and to cross-examine any witness. Also that the privileges committee is proposing a …

The Rule of Law and Lawyers’ Professional Commitments in the Face of Climate Change

Earlier this year I wrote a blog about lawyers, climate change,. and the rule of law. That was a precursor to a significant conference on climate change and the rule of law that we held at UCL. I've now written up my conference talk into a free-to-access paper. Here's the abstract: Lawyers are everywhere in …