6
7
Law
Winter
2013
failing to put a sign on the fruit counter
warning customers of the risk of large
biting spiders! They’d have sold a lot of
fruit wouldn’t they! I had to withdraw that
as “vexatious” – a legal word for “not a
seriously arguable point”.
When I started specialising in
commercial law it was at a time when a
large number of people from the Middle
East had come to London with oil wealth
and would “speculate” (gamble!) foreign
exchange, gold and other commodities.
This led to lots of arguments with banks
here and abroad and some big cases which
were great fun. We won some and lost
others but for a few years there was much
of this. That has now stopped and the new
wave of work that has replaced it has come
from Russia. Many Russians, while living
over there, nonetheless have contracts
governed by English law and which
require all disputes to be litigated here so
we see much work in London. The claims
are often worth hundreds of millions of
dollars. The trials can last many weeks
and when in trial, we have to work 6 days
a week for 12 hours a day, day in day out.
But then when they’re finished we get a
few days or weeks off until the batteries are
recharged. It’s a bit of a rollercoaster life, an
unusual way of working, challenging and
stressful at times but very enjoyable and
stimulating for the mind. Barristers work
for themselves although in groups sharing
expenses called “Chambers”. So we set our
own timetables – subject of course to when
the courts are sitting.
They say that studying law sharpens
the mind – by narrowing it. I suppose it’s
true that the legal profession is not like
business, advertising or working for the
BBC. It has rigorous training and strict
rules of conduct. One has to behave
scrupulously – or you can be struck off or
suspended. But it is endlessly fascinating,
well paid and you get decent holidays. If
you think it might be for you then try to
spend a couple of days with a barrister
seeing what they do. Get involved in
debating at school or university or
mooting – which is legal debating by
students.
To become a barrister or solicitor
you don’t have to study law as your first
degree; you can do a conversion course
after graduating in any subject as long
as you have at least a 2:1. I recommend
a career in the law and at the Bar in
particular. The days of fun at the criminal
bar are probably over due to government
cuts. But civil practice whether in the
field of commercial law, negligence,
building disputes, tax or human rights
is fulfilling and you can make a real
difference. It’s a very competitive
profession but highly satisfying.
They say that
studying law
sharpens the mind
– by narrowing it
… It has rigorous
training and strict
rules of conduct.
