Family barrister, author
@nofamilylawyer
, Chair
@seethrujustice
. Crocheter of unneeded thneeds. “Not really a wine drinker…” Currently mainly @ blue sky.
Self isolation diary day 1. We only have half a block of cheese (the sole food stuff that 9 will eat) and two bottles of red. Send help. (Will trade loo rolls for cheese n wine)
court clerk to litigant : Are you in person?
*blank face*
Do you understand what I mean?
*blank face*
Do you have a lawyer?
litigant : no
I have just watched this exact sequence repeated THREE TIMES in half an hour…
Idea : just ask ‘do you have a lawyer?'
A perfect illustration of the differences between jurisdictions. Why do we care whether his lawyer believes him? And why is a lawyer distracting herself with belief rather than evidence? Isn’t a lawyer’s job to gather, analyse, advise, present & test the evidence, not to believe?
"I met with Harvey, I spoke with Harvey and from day one I didn't believe he was a rapist."
Weinstein's lawyer Donna Rotunno tells ITV News in her first UK broadcast interview that her client is not guilty of the crimes he is accused of.
Read more:
@QcWynter
Having read everyone else’s suggestions and contemplated for literally seconds I reckon the end of a coat hanger (squished up a bit to fit thru neck) up the side, then rotate & draw it out, piercing/hooking the sponge as you pull the hook back out.
I even drew it for you(badly).
3 drunk men on way back from the races sexually harassing a woman on the train. Only me and one other woman stood up for her and called it out (an older man later came and had a “quiet word” with them and left. It didn’t work). Solidarity sisters! Not standing for that. Reported.
I’m only going to say 3 things about today’s news on here, because as you know, we don’t talk about judge club :
1 Thanks to everyone who sent congrats - sorry if I didn’t manage to reply.
2 I hate competency based interviews too.
3 I applied 3 times, bombed twice. Don’t give up.
@GoodLawProject
@RubyJLL
Seriously? You’ll be seeking repeal of CA1989 & dissolution of the Fam Ct then? Whether you agree w/ the decision in the Bell case or not, there has to be some legal framework for the protection of the vulnerable: & judicial sanction is a *safeguard* for parents & children alike.
Psssttt...hey excited newbie lawyers! I’m really excited for u & you’ll be great 👏🏻but...I’ve seen a few tweets lately saying “yay its my 1st hearing/xx/trial/ long trial...” what happens if your client sees that? A: awkward Qs & it might undermine yr confidence & theirs? 😬🤫💜
It must be real: There seems to be a hashtag…
#silksday2023
When you see the pics tomorrow, remember, this is who I feel like inside (school photo c 1988/9).
Lots & lots of you have sent lovely messages of congratulations on taking silk. I hope it is ok to say a single big THANK YOU & send a big cheesy grin back atcha.
Right, as you were everyone. Normal life resumes.
p.s. place your order for crocheted braces for silk day 2024 now!
@Kaz1237
@TashP351
Our Hammy (are they ALL called Hammy?) went missing for months, presumed dead. Was found in the summer in the log pile in the garage, in a nest made of xmas party popper string. He was completely bald, pink & wrinkly - and yes, he looked like a male appendage - but still alive!
I’d like to announce that today I said ‘No' to something someone asked me to do (another talk). I am allergic to saying ‘No’ to anyone who asks nicely, so this was hard, even tho I know its ok to refuse (esp. when its for free). So...pat on the back, please?
#wellbeing
#worthit
Him: the bathroom downstairs smells of wee, but it comes and goes. I don’t understand why it comes and goes! *puzzled face*
Me: um...Because I clean it? It goes when I clean it. And then the kids use it again?
Him: oh. *I did not realise that face*
🤐
I’m not going to retweet any of the footage of the Heard v Depp (Depp v Heard?) trial - but haven’t the American courts heard of vulnerable witnesses or special measures? Or re-traumatisation? It’s a grim carnival.
Parents,
Beware advice about Freemen on the land/Common law. It will not help your case. Seriously. Whoever is advising you is exploiting you. Cases like this are increasingly common. They never end well. Get legal advice from an actual lawyer. Please.
Hey
#LawTwitter
:
What's something you thought you knew in law school, but once you started articling or practicing, you realized you were completely wrong?
I’ve been *quite excited* all day. I’ve tried to at least like every lovely comment / acknowledge each email, whatsapp etc - but am not sure I’ve quite managed it, not least bcos twitter is being spotty about what it shows me. Please accept this as a general thanks & big love xxx
And here you have it. This is why we need public legal education. And why i need to step away from this ‘conversation’. I am trying to help people understand the law (in my own time) yet am met with people hoping I’ll get ‘what I deserve’, including job loss and prison. Charming.
Self isolation diary day 1. We only have half a block of cheese (the sole food stuff that 9 will eat) and two bottles of red. Send help. (Will trade loo rolls for cheese n wine)
So, I win the prize for the most underwhelming legal 500 entry ever : ‘does public and private law’… Yes, yes I do...thanks to whoever that was… :-D
#onwardsandupwards
This is important. Have seen several low income parents without legal aid and alone in court recently, notwithstanding serious allegations and complex proceedings, because “capital” : MoJ drops wealth rule that denied legal aid to victims of domestic abuse
Reading this tweet at 8.45pm: I‘M STILL WORKING! I HAVE BEEN WORKING SINCE 9am!! THIS IS NOT EVEN A REALLY LONG DAY. ITS JUST WHAT‘S REQUIRED WHEN COURT SITTING HOURS ARE 10-4!!! “Not enormous fans” doesn’t quite capture it!! Also, which profession (singular) is she referring to?
On extended hours, HMCTS chief executive Susan Acland-Hood says: 'The rep bodies not enormous fans of this plan, but work we can do with the profession to get into a place where we can make this a pragmatic, emergency solution we use whilst we have these backlogs to address.'
🚨EXCLUSIVE
Number 10 held two boozy parties the night before the Queen mourned Prince Philip alone.
Staff drank and at points danced until the early hours of the night of April 16.
Hours later, the Queen went to a socially-distanced funeral for Philip.
First chance I’ve had to sit down & say a public thank you to my principled, insightful & frankly bloody minded client
@louisetickle
, to the amazing team at
@tortoise
for supporting her & trusting our judgment & to Adam
@LewisSilkin
who was just fab!
This is the story I’ve been fighting to publish for a year and 7 days - the story of a powerful man, an MP, a minister of state, who abused & raped his wife while in office… today, with incredible support from
@tortoise
, and
@familoo
as barrister, I won.
@CEOofHMCTS
Barnet county court ladies toilets today. Entire place was filthy. No paper hand towels. Walls and floor grimy with brown drips, and standing dirty water in one blocked sink. Really grim. Laminated coronavirus instructions don’t make this ok.
Just discovered that this is how I am stored in 13’s phone. He thinks it’s very funny.
He is now playing “So long and thanks for all the fish” very loudly and singing along…
Tea drinkers! Unite w/ me against coffee shops that don’t understand the basic chemistry of tea, viz
•water must be boiling not merely hot
•you MUST let the bag brew B4 you murder it w/ milk or the fat clogs the poncy overpriced teabag
•also don’t call me sweet, love, darling
Just had desperate email from someone who has spent over 7k on a mckenzie friend (at £65 ph) that she now realises was a waste of money. >:-[ Just think how much legal advice she could have got for that amount! What ever happened to
@JudiciaryUK
’s McKenzie friend consultation?
Baby barristers & pupils: If u have ANY worries/anxieties about the current situation - PLEASE ask for support/help from your pupil supervisor, a member of chambers or someone at another chambers. We are ALL ALWAYS happy to be a phone a friend. It’s ok to ask. REALLY. x
Much talk about women in the public eye who are the subject of malicious allegations to social services. Nobody talking about “ordinary” women (mainly women IME) who are the subject of the same, again & again, often from ex partners. They don’t always get NFA w/o a visit either.
Feeling particularly despondent today about how much the family court lets some families down & how many folks just put it down to corruption, malice or greed. The reality is many good people are doing their absolute best every day with limited impact. It’s exhausting & draining.
That thing when a professional you’ve never met emails to ask if they can “pick your brains” i.e. get some cheeky free legal advice, and you spend time on a reply and never even get an acknowledgment let alone a thanks. Gggrrrr...
Much as I support the need to treat domestic abuse seriously and endorse the need to ensure victims of abuse are not discouraged, I just can’t support this. Might as well permit anyone to just declare abuse and forego any pretence of a fair trial.
Up at 3am. Made it here after lunch. Sourced food. Much splashing. Hubby now asleep on the swing chair, 15 conked out on 13’s bed and 13 passed out on sofa. And I’m here listening to assorted roosting noises and distant drumming…On my own. Peaceful.
at the request of the police my local paper is carrying a cctv still of a young pregnant woman who’s a suspect in connection to the theft of a turkey on xmas eve from nearby garage. not condoning theft but this seems v shortsighted. if guilty she probly needs support not shaming?
I write some of my best submissions / cross exam. in the shower. I can often be found, dripping on the bathmat with a towel round me, urgently voice-dictating the Eureka! that has been squeezed out of my brain by the shock of hot water hitting my scalp. Does anyone else do this?
Yay. Another 800 page pdf bundle w/ NO BOOKMARKS. PLEASE, send more. What I need in my life is MASSIVE PDFs w/o BOOKMARKS. OR, to mix it up, lots & lots of idiosyncratically labelled individual pdfs. Either will have similar effect. Didn’t want any downtime this weekend anyway.
Here’s a thing. My parents (74) went for a walk yesterday wearing motorbike helmets they borrowed off my brother for ‘protection'. Part of me is laughing. Part of me is crying.
This weekend I really fancy being invited to a social occasion solely so I can explain to a stranger how I can defend a rapist (even though I don't do criminal law) and give free consumer law advice (even though I dont do that either)
#thingsBarristersNeverSay
Reminder : being nice to one another costs nothing. Every time you snark or gob off at a colleague someone else feels a bit less able to keep being nice back... chip...chip...chip...
#wellbeing
As part of work to ensure more jury trials can run safely, we’ll be installing framed plexiglass screens in more court rooms over the coming weeks. We’ve tested this in Leeds, and Public Health England has checked and support this approach. 1/2
Wow. just had annual mortgage statement. Mortgage co have silently charged us a grand in fees for the covid mortgage holiday! I was never advised of a fee. Surely they can’t just do that?! Anyone know?
Some wisdom in here: “Never, never litigate, unless it is absolutely unavoidable…As Rebekah Vardy is perhaps now discovering…very few things in this life are more horrifyingly overrated than “having your day in court”.”
you know its been a bad week when your better half makes you a jacket tater for tea (soul food) and presents you with a giant bar of dairy milk for pudding, saying ‘I thought you might need this’...
Dear family Judges,
Please stop calling every case you publish M v F or Mother v Father.
Other letters are feeling left out.
Also, we can’t find the right M v F when we need it!!
Love from the lawyers
I have finished it!!!! Rubbish pictures, but it’s late and it’s hard to fit it l in whilst also cropping the mess around the room! It’s taken 8 months, and I feel instantly bereft!
Well, tonight is like a great big showcase of just how woeful our civic and public legal education is in this country. Stop implying or asserting guilt. Nobody has been convicted. Somehow the courts will still have to find a jury that can fairly try the case.
A judgment about and for Tilly and Amy (pseudonyms). This is beautifully done (as always with HHJ Vincent) - short judgment for the people at the centre of the decision, longer one for the legally minded. Sad but fair.
Boy selling squirts of sanitiser at school makes £9 before being sent home. 'In a post on Facebook, [his mother] said it was hard to discipline her son when his "dad called to say he was a legend”.'
I know I shouldn’t laugh, but...
On my desk when I got back from court : “I saw your blog and wanted to send you a hug in floral form”... There are some amazing and lovely lawyers out there.... (I won’t embarrass you by name - but THANK YOU xxx )
…in other news I received confirmation from West London Family Court inbox this morning that my email regarding a hearing I was due to attend in Sept 2016 has not been read…
#efficient
First run of 2019 complete. Still alive. Still fat. Knees creaking. Wobbles wobbling. Face like a beetroot. Breathing like a bandsaw. Don’t care I only managed 2 miles. Just feels good to be outdoors and moving...
:-)
trying to carry on as normal, because if I dwell on the reality of what is happening I’m afraid i’ll turn into a useless ball of jelly…I can shut it out for hours at a time…but I just keep thinking about the death toll…& feel guilty for carrying on as if it isn’t happening...
My hearing has finished a day early. My hotel is booked and paid for and I can’t be ar*ed to drive home tonight. Heading off in search of some grub before a good night’s rest in a comfy bed, and a decent breakfast before I head home.
All smiles here! I’ve done all next week’s prep, AND I’ve just read some heartwarming final evidence which makes me super proud of my client! AND it’s the weekend! AND I have several bottles of fizz that simply MUST be tackled before they…er…go out of date? 👀🥂🍾
#HappyFriday
Usher : It’s Miss...?
Me : Ms Reed
Usher writes : Miss Reid
Me : with two Ees.
Usher : two ees?
Me : in Reed. ar double ee dee.
Me : and its Ms
Usher : Corrects sheet. Name now illegible....
Some time later...
Judge : Yes, Miss Reed?
This *exact* thing. Every week. For 16 years.
”What’s your name?”
“Becky”
“Is that short for Rebecca?”
[sharp intake of breath] “No!”
“Does it say Rebecca on your birth certificate?”
[clenches fist] “No!”
“So its just Becky”
[gritted teeth] “Yes, that’s what I said!”
1 I chose them cos I liked them & can walk in them, not cos they're what women are expected 2 wear.
2 Shoosmiths didn't suggest all women think about is shoes. YOU did.
3 I'm able 2 dress myself AND do law AND call out unseen gender bias ALL AT ONCE.
#checkyourprivilegenotmyshoes
Yep. Waving to the snarky male opponent who ran me down both to my face and to people I don’t know in the advocates room recently. I see your game. It was needlessly spiteful and hurtful and I won’t forget it easily.
This is such an important judgment, even though it is interim. I dare say it has wider application than to the parents of disabled children - we need fo think about and understand the responses of parents in their context, which may involve chronic stress and trauma.
W (A Child). Re [2021] EWHC 2844 (Fam) (25 October 2021):
Care proceedings concerning 12 year old child with serious disabilities, where his carers had encountered a resistance and what they perceived to be combative interference from the parents. Report:
Now not at all sure why I ordered a sewing machine from argos yesterday, since a) I can’t sew b) I can’t think of any sewing projects and c) I now realise I have no fabric...
Everyone is saying these remote hearings are exhausting- & by G they are- but imagine being a judge doing a back to back list of emergency corona children directions hearings by phone ALL DAY. & having no solutions. Just adjourning into the mid-distance as the least worst option.
3 in 5 women have put off attending their cervical screening because they've been unable to get a wax with the salons being closed. Our tongue in cheek campaign got you talking? Read the research here don't let embarassment get in the way of your health!
I don’t know who needs to know this, but…
it’s Body WORN video.
Not body warm
Not body warn
Not big wobbly
Not Bobby worn
You’re welcome for this public service announcement
Is anyone else finding that the rhythm of the week has gone all floppy with the result that you can’t keep track of what you have to do from one day to the next even with more obsessive than usual to do lists? (asking for a friend of course)
OMG - just scared the bejeesus out of myself on a night raid of the chambers biscuit stash (last one in so lights all out). Saw a man hiding in the shadows in reception out of corner of my eye…heart attack! It was the bloody chambers christmas tree! Time to go home I think!
‘[Those at HMCTS] are working extremely hard to keep court users safe and ensure that the justice system continues to operate. They deserve our support’- John Bache, national chairman of
@MagsAssoc
, quoted in
@thetimes
#JusticeHeroes
Somebody paid me an unexpected compliment on an otherwise pretty crappy day recently. They probably didn’t realise it, but it was a real boost. A nice thing to lift me out of all the other stuff spiralling around me, just for a moment. Say something lovely to someone tomorrow. 🌤️