CareersspeCialCareer pathways: soliCitor vs BarristerChoosing vaCation sChemes and mini-pupillagesCareer options from daniel greenBerg & filippo lorenzon

• Contempt of Court and the media

• paula giliker on grimes v hawkins

• answering tough questions on contract law

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39 STUDENT REPS Find out who your rep is

3

NEWSA SEvEN-STRoNg PANEL oF SUPREME coURT jUSTIcES hAS DISMISSED AN ATTEMPT BY ThE TRUSTEES oF LEhMAN BRoThERS To REcoUP £61M FRoM NoTEhoLDERS, BY UPhoLDINg AN INSoLvENcY LAW PRINcIPLE ThAT hAS ExISTED FoR 200 YEARS. in a unanimous judgment led by lord Collins of Mapesbury, the court said the anti-deprivation rule - first laid out in 1812 - was too well-established to be discarded in this case.

the decision is a victory for lawrence graham, hogan lovells and counsel from 3 Verulam Buildings and Brick Court Chambers, representing the respondents and original claimants in the case.

the supreme Court upheld the previous decisions of high Court chancellor sir andrew Morritt and the Court of appeal in dismissing the appeal of lehman group company lehman Brothers special Financing (lBsF).

giving the leading judgment Collins said: “it would go well beyond the proper province of the judicial function to discard 200 years’ of authority, and to attempt to rewrite the case law in the light of modern statutory developments. the anti-deprivation rule is too well established to be discarded despite the detailed provisions set out in modern insolvency legislation, all of which must be taken to have been enacted against the background of the rule.”

ThE hIgh coURT hAS gRANTED AN INjUNcTIoN To SIx MAjoR hoLLYWooD STUDIoS ThAT WILL FoRcE BRITISh TELEcoM (BT) To SToP ITS INTERNET USERS FRoM AccESSINg A WEBSITE ThAT INFRINgES coPYRIghT. the hollywood studios, led by twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, had sought a high Court injunction under the Copyrights, designs & patents act to prevent Bt’s customers from accessing the newzbin website.

Richard spearman QC of 4-5 gray’s inn was instructed by wiggin partner simon Baggs to represent the claimants. he went head-to-head with Matrix Chambers antony white QC, who was instructed directly by Bt.

the claimants argued that an injunction was the most effective method of closing down the newzbin website, which indexed and enabled searching of copyright protected content.

it was argued that the injunction would provide proportionate means to deal with the site and dissuade others from following suit.

Bt, the largest internet service provider (isp) in the uK, denied that it had actual knowledge that the users and operators of newzbin were using its website to infringe copyright.

a high Court injunction, it argued, would be contrary to its status as a “mere conduit” and Bt cannot be expected to enforce copyright holders’ rights.

Mr Justice arnold granted the injunctions. he stated: “i’m satisfied that the order sought by the studios is a proportionate one.”

the judge also highlighted that the case was perceived by the studios to be a “test case”, adding “if they’re successful in obtaining an order against Bt, then they intend to seek similar orders against all other significant isps in the uK.

ThE coURT oF APPEAL hAS ovERTURNED A RULINg WhIch PREvIoUSLY ALLoWED jUDgES To BAN coNvIcTED PAEDoPhILES FRoM UNSUPERvISED AccESS To ThEIR oWN chILDREN. the Court ruled that the “right to family life” must be taken into consideration when sexual offences prevention orders are issued. it also ruled judges cannot ban paedophiles from accessing the internet.

A WEB END-USER LIcENcE WAS REQUIRED To LAWFULLY USE AND REcEIvE coNTENT IN ThE FoRM oF cLIPPINgS AND hEADLINES SoURcED BY MEDIA MoNIToRINg oRgANISATIoNS ThAT TRAWLED A MULTITUDE oF WEBSITES USINg SEARch TERMS SELEcTED BY ThE END-USER. that was because the copies passed on to the end-users were not covered by the web database licences issued to the monitoring organisations. the end-user licence was only needed where the content passed on to the end-user constituted a substantial part of the original work.

UNDER NEW PRoPoSALS FoR coMMUNITY SENTENcES, oFFENDERS WILL BE REQUIRED To WoRK A FULL FIvE-DAY WEEK UNDERTAKINg MANUAL LABoUR, cLEARINg UP LITTER AND cLEANINg gRAFFITI. unemployed criminals will be required to work a minimum of 28 hours over four days, with the fifth day spent looking for full-time employment; previously community sentences could be spread over 12 months.

4

IN ThE LAW

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ine

5

SoUTh WEST FIRM FooT ANSTEY IS SET To oPEN AN oFFIcE IN ThE hEART oF BRISToL’S BUSINESS DISTRIcT IN ocToBER. the firm, which already has established offices in exeter, plymouth, taunton and truro, hopes the launch will strengthen its media and financial services practice as well as expanding groups such as dispute resolution, employment and real estate.

Managing partner John westwell commented: “the opening of this office is an exciting strategic development in the continued evolution of the firm.

“this move will help us to provide a better service to our clients and will enable us to continue to attract the top legal talent.”

LocKE LoRD BISSELL & LIDDELL AND TRoUTMAN SANDERS ARE gEARINg UP FoR LoNDoN LAUNchES, joININg ThE RANKS oF US FIRMS INTENT oN coNQUERINg ThE cITY MARKET. texas-based locke lord is understood to be talking to a team at salans, with a view to a City raid of corporate, commercial and consumer finance lawyers.

the energy and insurance specialist, which has a City office but no london-based lawyers, has been seeking a uK launch for years, and held merger talks with Barlow lyde & gilbert in 2006 and 2007.

a firm spokesperson said: “For some time, we’ve been considering growth options that provide synergies with our us core practices including corporate, banking, energy, insurance and financial services.”

75 PER cENT oF ThE UK’S 100 BIggEST LAW FIRMS PLAN To RAISE ThEIR FEES IN 2012, AccoRDINg To RESEARch BY SWEET AND MAxWELL.

LAW FIRMS hAvE SEEN A SURgE IN INSoLvENcY-RELATED WoRK AND EMPLoYMENT ADvIcE, AS ToUgh EcoNoMIc coNDITIoNS coNTINUE To AFFEcT cLIENTS. Figures from law firm referral service Contact law showed a significant rise in calls from members of the public and businesses relating to employment and insolvency.

employment-related inquiries rose to 16,199 between 1 January and 31 July this year, a 30% increase on the same period last year. of these, most were from people who had already been dismissed by their employer, or were about to be made redundant.

Calls relating to insolvency rose 72% during the same period compared to last year, with 548 inquiries.

Contact law director dan watkins said: “insolvency-related legal enquiries are now, by a distance, our fastest growing area, and with the uK and global economic climate worsening and talk of a double-dip recession, this is a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. this, coupled with the continuing rise in employment-related enquiries, paints a worrying picture of the state of the uK economy.”

FIRMS BREAK INTo MILLIoNAIRES’ cLUB AS PARTNER EARNINgS RISE. the number of firms with partners earning more than £1m now stands at 18 - the largest amount since 2008.

as one would expect, the magic circle have comfortably inhabited that category for half a decade (although Clifford Chance slipped out of the millionaires’ club in 2008-09, when top partners received a profit share of £870,000).

in 2008-09, the most difficult year for the commercial legal profession, just eight firms - allen & overy, Berwin leighton paisner, dla piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus

deringer, gordons, linklaters, Macfarlanes and slaughter and May - paid their top partners more than £1m.

AFTER A STELLAR 2009-10, gRoWTh AT ThE BAR hAS SLoWED FoR MANY, BUT FoR coMMERcIAL SETS BUSINESS coNTINUES To BooM. the continuing wave of litigation spilling out of the financial meltdown is driving growth for the specialist sets. these are cases that span the globe, where competition for business is at its most intense because the rewards are highest.

the collapse of lehman Brothers has already occupied several hundred hours of court time. Most recently the supreme Court dismissed an attempt by the trustees of lehman to recoup £61m from noteholders, by upholding an insolvency law principle that has existed for 200 years (see story). this case involved nine barristers - five of them top-rated silks.

Cases such as Bta Bank v ablyazov & ors are still to be played out in the Commercial Court and other major banking matters are yet to emerge.

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8

WhAT’S NEWSWEET & MAxWELL SWEET & MAxWELL IS ThE UK’S LEADINg DEDIcATED LEgAL PUBLIShER. WE hAvE BEEN INSPIRINg STUDENTS FoR ovER 200 YEARS WITh AUThoRITATIvE LAW TExTBooKS AND REvISIoN gUIDES.

KEY SWEET & MAxWELL TExTBooKS NoW IN E-BooK FoRMAT sweet & Maxwell have just published an additional 14 textbooks in eBook format, making a total of 29 titles now available in the format. titles include our renowned introductory text glanville williams’ learning the law in addition to textbooks in every core area of law.

eBooks give you the flexibility of accessing, searching and annotating your texts wherever you are – with everything kept in sync in the cloud.

sweet & maxwell eBooks are exclusively available at the amazon.co.uk Kindle eBooks store. search for “sweet & maxwell” to see the full list.

oSBoRN’S coNcISE LAW DIcTIoNARY NoW AvAILABLE AS AN APP sweet & Maxwell’s leading law dictionary is now available in the apple app store for interactive searching on the go with your iphone, ipod touch or ipad.

For over 80 years, osborn’s has been the dictionary of choice for law students. with over 4,700 references from the obscure to the everyday, it contains everything needed for the study of law.

in the app, you can easily search for terms as results appear as you type. you can also browse the full list of terms in a scrolling a-Z list. where terms have reference to other terms, a link is provided. you can also personalise your dictionary by bookmarking terms that are important to you - they are then combined into a bookmarks list, providing you quick and easy access to your own essential list of terms.

the app is available in the itunes store and ios app store priced £9.99.

NUTcASES AND NUTShELLS: NoW WITh NEW LAYoUT IN EvERY TITLE we’ve completed the re-launch of sweet & Maxwell’s trusted revision guides. all titles now have a re-designed layout maintaining their 20 year status as the original and best law revision guides on the market.

nutshells are an ideal starter guide to the subject, giving a full overview, while nutcases will give you an in-depth case analysis of the facts, principles and decisions of the most important cases.

nutcases and nutshells are available from all good booksellers priced £10.95 each.

WESTLAW UK WE ARE coNTINUALLY ENhANcINg WESTLAW UK To ENSURE IT IS AS INTUITIvE AS PoSSIBLE So ThAT ThE TEchNoLogY YoU USE coMPLEMENTS YoUR hARD WoRK AND EFFoRTS – hELPINg YoU To BEAT ThE coMPETITIoN AND AchIEvE ThE BEST RESULTS YoU cAN.

UNRAvELLINg coMPLEx cASE hISToRIES now with over 350,000 full-text case reports and transcripts, and case analysis of all decisions in the uK from 1865. in-depth case analysis documents take you beyond the facts to help you understand the real implications of a decision.

vIEW ThE STATUS oF A cASE AT A gLANcE the visual icon system ensures that you can quickly assess whether a case is good law. positive, neutral, overruled or Reversed, you can be confident in the knowledge that the case you’re referring to is dependable.

LEgISLATIoN westlaw uK’s unique legislation analysis tool collates all relevant information concerning a provision in one place - the ideal way to view the past, present and future status.

ANNoTATED STATUTES annotated statutes provide the most authoritative and up-to-date guidance on the law as it develops through new legislation and judicial interpretation, enabling you to quickly understand the impact of new legislation and how might it be interpreted by the courts.

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SEPTEMBER paula giliker - tort - who’s liable when a teenage party goes wrong?

ocToBER penny darbyshire - the english legal system - what are the best sources to stay up-to-date in the law?

NovEMBER daniel greenberg - laying down the law - who really shapes new law?

DEcEMBER duncan Bloy & sara hadwin - law & the Media - do the courts undermine freedom of speech?

jANUARY robert duxbury - Contract law - when is an agreement to share lottery winnings legally binding?

9

ReuteRs / scott audette

10

BEcoMINg A SoLIcIToR: PAThWAY To PRAcTIcE

cAREER PAThWAYS

law graduates

year

non-law graduates

Qualifying law degree course

1 - 3

other degree course

legal practice Course (lpC)

4

graduate diploma in law (gdl)

(law conversion course)

training Contract (including professional

skills Course (psC))

5

legal practice Course (lpC)

training Contract (including psC)

6

training Contract (including psC)

Qualification

7

training Contract (including psC)

8

Qualification

Key terms

Barrister. a lawyer who has been called to the Bar of england and wales.

solicitor. solicitors advise clients and prepare cases, but usually do not have higher rights of audience.

gdl. graduate diploma in law. the one year law conversion course for non-law graduates.

BptC. the Bar practical training Course, the final stage of training before pupillage.

pupilllage. the barristers’ apprenticeship, consisting of one year working as a ‘pupil’ within a chambers. after the first six months, pupils can present cases in court.

lpC. legal practice Course. the solicitors’ vocational training course.

psC. professional skills Course. practical training course for solicitors.

FIRST YEAR LAW AND SEcoND YEAR NoN-LAW UNDERgRADUATES • Getasmuchlegalworkexperienceasyoucanandmakethemostofanycontacts within the legal profession.

• Participateinasmanyclientinterviewingcompetitions,negotiatingcompetitions, court visits, mock trials and moots as you can without compromising your studies (if your university does not have these initiatives in place, speak to your student law society or tutors, or consider establishing one yourself).

• Attendcareersfairsandanyguestlecturesorcareersworkshopstofindoutas much as possible about the recruitment process, the different areas of legal practice, and the breadth of training opportunities that are available to you. it is important to get this preparation out the way this year to put yourself in the best possible position when the recruitment process starts in earnest next year. never miss an opportunity to make a new contact and always invest time in following them up.

• ConsidervolunteeringatyourlocalCitizensAdviceBureauorTradingStandards office. your university might run a clinical legal education programme offering such training schemes. if not, get in touch with your local office to find out about volunteering opportunities.

• Findoutabout,andgetinvolvedin,anyotherProBonoinitiativesatyouruniversity.

• Useyourlongsummerholidaywiselytogainasmuchexperienceaspossibleto enhance your CV. this is particularly important this summer as you are likely to be applying for training contracts next year and will need all the ammunition you can find when it comes to tackling the tricky questions on application forms.

• Considergettinginvolvedincharityworkorfundraisingevents.Thisisagreatway to develop key skills such as teamwork, negotiation and communication, and it will give you something interesting to talk about at interviews. this experience is likely to be particularly useful if you are interested in community legal work as employers will be looking for candidates who have shown a genuine interest in helping people and can demonstrate a commitment to their community or a particular cause.

11

• Makeaseriouscommitmenttoresearchingthe legal recruitment process, and the breadth of opportunities available within the profession, so that you can start making informed decisions about which career path you would like to follow.

• Visityouruniversitycareerscentreandgettoknow the careers advisors. they are an invaluable source of help so it is worth getting in touch with them as early as possible, rather than waiting until the busy periods when everyone else is also desperate for advice.

SEcoND YEAR LAW AND ThIRD YEAR NoN-LAW UNDERgRADUATES • Continuetofollowlastyear’sadvice(asappropriate) although by now you should have made some decisions about your chosen career path and therefore your research and networking should become more targeted.

• Atthebeginningoftheyear,listthekeydeadlines in the recruitment calendar and the dates of any important careers related events.

• ContinuetoparticipateinProBonoinitiatives.

• Applyforvacationschemesandtrainingcontracts (check deadlines for each firm).

• Talktostudentswhohavealreadysecuredatraining contract and ask them to review and provide feedback on your CV and application forms.

• Attendmockinterviewsandassessmentcentre workshops at your university careers centre.

• Somelawschoolsanduniversitycareerscentres maintain electronic or paper based databases where you can review feedback forms from students who have attended interviews at particular firms. this is an excellent form of preparation and should give you a clearer idea of what to expect from the interview and a better understanding of what that firm is looking for in prospective trainees.

• Collectprospectusesandattendlawschoolopen days to find out more about the lpC/gdl.

• Non-lawundergraduatesshouldapplyforaplace on the gdl.

ThIRD YEAR LAW UNDERgRADUATES AND gDL STUDENTS Who hAvE NoT ALREADY SEcURED A TRAININg coNTRAcT • Continuetofollowlastyear’sadvice(asappropriate).

• Collectprospectusesandvisitlawschoolopendays to find out more about the lpC.

• ApplyforaplaceontheLPC.Ifyouareconcerned about embarking on the course without a training contract, get in touch with someone from your chosen provider and ask about the percentage of students who join without a training contract and how many secure one before completing the course.

• Continuetoapplyforvacationschemesandtraining contracts. seek feedback if you are unsuccessful and take full advantage of the support available from your careers service.

• ApplyforstudentmembershipoftheSolicitors Regulation authority (sRa).

• Findoutwhetheryouruniversityorlawschool operates a formal or informal mentoring programme to enable you to learn from other people’s experiences and make some useful contacts within the profession.

LPc STUDENTS Who hAvE NoT ALREADY SEcURED A TRAININg coNTRAcT • Continuetofollowlastyear’sadvice(asappropriate).

• CriticallyreviewyourCV,applicationformsand interview performance. seek advice from careers advisors, friends, or tutors as they might pick up on weaknesses that you have missed. >

ReuteRs / yves herman

adapted from from student to solicitor: the Complete guide to securing a training Contract by Charlotte harrison, available from bookshops and the amazon Kindle eBook store.

Discuss online at uklawstudent.thomsonreuters.com

Related eBook From Student to Solicitor by Charlotte Harrison

“Start applying for training contracts as early as possible. You learn something from each round of applications that you do and if you are not successful you can apply again the next year. Law

fi rms have specifi c recruitment periods and they generally recruit two years in advance so you need to apply early.”

Rachael Williams, Solicitor, Coffi n Mew LLP

“Students need to be aware of the recruitment process at a very early stage because it will alert them to the importance of work experience. They

really need to be trying to get as much legal experience or exposure to the legal world (which can include court visits, etc.) as early as possible and at the same time learn about what’s ahead of them.”

Veronica Oldfi eld, Careers Consultant and Tutor, College of Law

12

cAREER PAThWAYS

“I got most of my information about the recruitment process during the fi rst year of my degree from the

vocational events that my Student Law Society put on.I even went along to a lot of the second year events

so I had an idea of what I had to work up to.The vocational events included guest lectures,

application workshops, commercial awareness training, networking drinks receptions, and law fairs.”

Jo Pennick, Third Year Law Undergraduate, King’s College London

13

BEcoMINg A BARRISTER: PAThWAY To ThE BAR law graduates

year

non-law graduates

degree course

1 - 3

degree course

Bar professional

training Course (BptC)

4

graduate diploma in law (gdl)

(law conversion course)

pupillage

5

Bar professional training Course (BptC)

third-six/tenancy

6

pupillage

tenancy

7

third-six/tenancy

DURINg UNIvERSITY • Getasmuchlaw-relatedexperienceasyoucan:volunteertotakepartinmock trials in the law department; visit the local law courts; attend careers fairs and talk to solicitors; and talk to any barrister that crosses your path.

• Ifyouarenotreadinglaw,thepointaboveisespeciallyimportant.Ifpossible,take a law elective and speak to law students about their studies.

• Takeadvantageofthelonguniversityholidaystogetsomelegalworkexperience, anything from helping out in your local solicitors’ firm to trying out a vacation placement (the solicitor’s equivalent of a mini-pupillage). it does not have to be connected to the Bar (although if you find something Bar-related, all the better).

• Getpeople-centricexperienceparticularlyinfieldswhereyouarehelpingpeople tackle their problems: volunteer for your university night line (a nationwide listening service run by students for other students); and volunteer to help out with homeless charities, amnesty or any charities with a legal element.

• Tryamateuracting.Mostuniversitieshavesomestudentdramaanditprovidesa great opportunity to overcome the inevitable stage fright and practise public speaking.

• Takeupdebatingforyouruniversity.Therearedebatingcompetitionsalmostevery weekend of the year and two major annual international competitions (the european and the world Championships) to which your university might send a team.

FoR NoN-LAW gRADUATES: ThE YEAR BEFoRE YoU BEgIN ThE gDL • Gettheprospectusesforthelawschoolswhichinterestyou;attendtheiropendays.

• ApplyforyourGDL(thedeadlinestendtobeinFebruary).

• Startapplyingformini-pupillagesinthefieldsoflawthatyouthinkyoumight be keen to practise (apply for as many as you can). undertake any which you are offered. (see path to pupillage, Chapter 11).

• Spendsometimegivingseriousthoughttoyourchosencareerandwhetheryou are 100 per cent set on going to the Bar.

• Attendcareersfairs.

• JoinanInnandapplyforGDLscholarships(seePathtoPupillage,Chapter5). >

Key terms

Barrister. a lawyer who has been called to the Bar of england and wales.

solicitor. solicitors advise clients and prepare cases, but usually do not have higher rights of audience.

gdl. graduate diploma in law. the one year law conversion course for non-law graduates.

BptC. the Bar practical training Course, the final stage of training before pupillage.

pupilllage. the barristers’ apprenticeship, consisting of one year working as a ‘pupil’ within a chambers. after the first six months, pupils can present cases in court.

lpC. legal practice Course. the solicitors’ vocational training course.

psC. professional skills Course. practical training course for solicitors.

14

cAREER PAThWAYS

gDL YEAR oR FINAL YEAR oF A LAW DEgREE • GettheprospectusesfortheBPTClawschoolsand attend their open days.

• ApplyforyourBPTC(thedeadlinestendtobeearly in the calendar year).

• ApplyforBPTCscholarshipsthroughyourInnand law school.

• Continuetoapplyformini-pupillagesinthefieldsof law that you think you might be keen to practise (apply for as many as you can). undertake as many as you can fit in around your legal studies.

• IfyouhavenotyetjoinedanInn,joinone(remember it is compulsory to join one before May of the year you are to begin the BptC).

• Makealistofallthechambersthatyouareinterested to apply to and note down their application deadlines in your diary to ensure that you do not miss any (some are very early in the year). double-check all the dates by looking at chambers’ websites as those published on the pupillage portal may not be up-to-date.

• Seekallthelegalexperienceyoucan.

• Attendanychambers’eveningsoropendaysavailable.

• AttendtheTargetNationalPupillageFair,which usually takes place in March at the beginning of the application season.

• Startmootingand,ifyoudidnottryitatuniversity, debating.

• Beginyourqualifyingsessionsandusethem as opportunities to speak to barristers and other students.

• Enteressaycompetitions.

• Volunteerforprobonoworkforexamplethroughthe

Citizens advice Bureaux, legal advice Centres or FRu.

• Consideranyotherlegalworkthatyoucandoand,if you have time, do it (see Chapter 15).

• Applyforpupillagesforthefirsttime,boththrough the pupillage portal and to chambers outside the system.

• Reviseforpupillageinterviews.

• Doamockinterview.

• Takeadvantageofthesummerwhereyoumaybetied to england or wales by interviews and get more legal work experience such as paralegaling in a City firm.

• Ifyoucangetaway,considerspendingtimein an overseas jurisdiction, for example working with death Row prisoners (Reprieve and amicus offer such opportunities).

• Ifyouarenotsuccessfulinsecuringpupillage,apply for the pupillage portal Clearing pool.

ThE BPTc YEAR (unless you have pupillage, and, remember, most candidates will not)

• Continuemini-pupillaging,FRU,debating,mooting, CaB work, entering essay competitions and doing any other legal work you can find.

• AgainattendtheTargetNationalPupillageFair.

• Talktosomefriendswhoweresuccessfulat getting pupillages the first time round and ask for their advice.

• Applyforoverseasscholarships.

• Preparetoreapplyforthenextroundofpupillage applications. n

>

ReuteRs / dwi oblo

adapted from the path to pupillage: a guide for the aspiring Barrister by georgina wolfe and alexander Robson, available from bookshops and the amazon Kindle eBook store.

Discuss online at uklawstudent.thomsonreuters.com

Related eBook The Path to Pupillage by Georgina Wolfe and Alexander Robson

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ThE cLIENTS When these highly specialised practitioners sitting on both sides of the bench watch a ship disappearing behind the horizon with her load of cargo or holiday-makers, what they see is a massively expensive, huge and powerful means of transportation loaded with very expensive goods or full of passengers. A means of transportation which is navigating across a sea swimming with national, regional and international regulations in a very complex network of contractual and Common law duties and liabilities under pressure of time and market conditions: a very good client indeed!

Every day traders risk their personal and corporate fortunes by buying volatile commodities and reselling them on a different, more lucrative, market. Most of what we eat, drink, wear, drive and use has travelled by sea at some point in its life, either in a colourful iron box called a ‘container’ or as raw commodity in the holds of a Panamax general carrier. Some items of every day use may have travelled several times at different stages of their manufacturing process and have made it to our kitchen, wardrobe or garage: an impressive achievement which most of us give for granted. All ships are usually made to order under extremely sophisticated contracts for the sale of

goods and supply of services (shipbuilding contracts), with the help of specialised lenders and mortgage providers, to be delivered for service under time and voyage charters and to carry almost anything one can think of across dangerous oceans where a twist in the weather, a structural failure or an unforeseen encounter with a modern – and rather less poetic – Jack Sparrow may result in the total loss of vessel, crew and cargo.

In performing this service ships will need to be competently manned, comply with IMO, EU, National and regional legislation and abide to written and customary rules of navigation and seamanship. When all goes as planned, nobody notices or indeed has much interest in what goes on behind the scenes: very rarely do ports, yards and ships make the news under a positive light with the exception of the launch of some swanky cruise-liner or its conversion as a posh hotel on a Middle Eastern holiday resort. When things go wrong however, shipping makes the front page and the images of the Erika splitting in two and sinking in a sea of oil or the Prestige’s bow disappearing in the deep blue sea make the headlines worldwide. And most definitely not under a positive light! >

FILIPPo LoRENzoN

SAIL ToWARDS A cAREER AS A ShIPPINg LAWYER

WhEN WATchINg A ShIP SAILINg FRoM PoRT, MoST oF US WoULD BE FoRgIvEN FoR IMAgININg FAR AWAY LANDS AND SEAS oF ADvENTURES AND DIScovERIES, READY FoR ThE UNExPEcTED AND hoPEFUL oF LoST TREASURES, PERFEcT SToRMS AND ThE oNcE-IN-A-LIFETIME ExPERIENcES WhIch MAKE ANY voYAgE UNIQUE.

ShIPPINg AND ShIPS hAvE ATTRAcTED ThE ATTENTIoN oF PAINTERS, NovELISTS AND PoETS FoR cENTURIES AND hAvE INSPIRED SoME oF ThE MoST REMARKABLE WoRKS oF ART IN REcENT hISToRY. ThERE IS DEFINITELY SoMEThINg SPEcIAL ABoUT A vESSEL, A MYSTERIoUS chARM WhIch IS vERY DIFFIcULT To RESIST; YET NoT FoR ShIPPINg LAWYERS.

ShIPPINg LAWYERS in all this, shipping lawyers play a crucial albeit often invisible role as they follow every ship from her design, finance and construction all the way through her final voyage and scrapping, taking care of all aspects of her operations. as with everybody else involved in the shipping business, maritime lawyers live rather adventurous lives advising owners, charterers, cargo interests, insurers and all other parties concerned on how to avoid claims and – when difficulties arise – helping them and the ship getting out of the mist. at times of plain sailing, they work tirelessly at contractual risk management, loss prevention and compliance issues. when problems arise and their clients are at risk, they join the front line often traveling to foreign shores where ships may be arrested or otherwise in trouble, attempting the pursuit of an amicable settlement or – where necessary – taking matters to arbitration or to court.

ThE SKILLS YoU NEED Becoming a top shipping practitioner is indeed a difficult task and requires a sound commercial sense, rock solid knowledge of contract and tort law, ability to think quickly and out of the box and a great deal of passion for the intricacies of this specialised area of the law. it is however a truly rewarding career which offers good earnings and an exciting and varied

practice. those lucky enough to be involved in casualty response should be prepared for a great deal of traveling with very little, indeed, if any notice at all – admittedly not for all but very rewarding indeed.

the best starting point would be to read up on the subject. My own co-authored title Maritime law offers the reader a uniquely practical ride across all areas of shipping law and – as such – will work as a great introduction for those armed with enough curiosity to undertake this reading adventure. a word of caution though: Maritime law may change the way you read Jules Verne or watch titanic and pirates of the Caribbean: a shipping lawyer’s professional hazard. n

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filippo lorenzon is director of the institute of Maritime law, university of southampton, in addition to co-authoring maritime law, 2nd edition (2011).

A gooD PLAcE To START maritime law, 2nd edition, is the ideal starting point for any undergraduate and postgraduate student or young trainee to explore the basic notions of shipping law. the book allows easy access to very complex areas of contract and tort law while dealing with all aspects of modern shipping spanning from CiF and FoB sales to shipbuilding, sale and registration, chartering, safety and compliance, competition, collisions, salvage and insurance.

A cAREER AS A ShIPPINg LAWYER

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WhEN I WAS A LAW STUDENT ABoUT 150 YEARS Ago, IT WAS coMMoN FoR PEoPLE To ASK US WhY WE WANTED To go INTo LAW AS A cAREER. ThE STANDARD ANSWER WAS ThAT WE WANTED To hELP PEoPLE AND MAKE ThE WoRLD A BETTER PLAcE; AND SoMEThINg APPRoAchINg hALF oF US PRoBABLY BELIEvED ThAT, AT LEAST AT ThE TIME.the typical student reaction is rather different today: confronting a group of ten law students a couple of years ago with the same question, i received the altruistic answer from only one student, while the others all found different ways of saying that, in effect, they were attracted to law not by the substance of the profession but by the size of the incomes believed to be attainable in it. one student had the effrontery to express it by asking me to believe that he had “always been interested in commercial law”: nobody can be interested in “commercial law” as an abstract concept, and at least the others had, to a greater or lesser degree, the honesty to admit that what they were really interested in was money.

if the only thing that motivates you to pursue a career in law is the hope that it is a serviceable way to a large income, you may as well be honest about it, and a straight progression towards commercial law of one kind or another, preferably in a City law firm, is the most obvious course of action. But i suspect that there are still many more students who, even if it has become less fashionable to admit it openly, are motivated by a number of things other than the acquisition of money. in particular, i imagine that many of them continue to believe that law is capable of offering a more varied and more interesting career than many others open to them; and i would like to believe that many of them have a feeling that they might be able to be genuinely useful in the course of a legal career.

nowhere are these two ambitions more likely to be satisfied than in a career that centres around public service law of one form or another. whether one is talking about joining a department of the government legal service, local government, >

DANIEL gREENBERg

A cAREERIN PUBLIc SERvIcE LAW

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A cAREER IN PUBLIc SERvIcE LAW

or any of the non-governmental public service organisations, two things are likely to be true of the work that awaits the young lawyer upon arrival.

gREATER RESPoNSIBILITY First, he or she is likely to be given greater responsibility from day one than many experience in private practice: the ethos of the civil service and of public service generally has always been one of encouraging people to take as much responsibility as they feel like and as they demonstrate themselves to be capable of bearing. although this may not be quite as true today as it once was, particularly of the main civil service departments, it is still a great deal more true of most public service careers than it is of much, although not all, of private practice.

SERvINg ThE PUBLIc secondly, a lawyer who approaches public service with a determination to try to be of genuine use to the public, is relatively likely to be given opportunities to fulfil that ambition. while it is of course possible for lawyers in private practice to be of immense service to the public, a successful career in the City, or in commercial law more or less anywhere, can lead one to be insulated to a greater or lesser extent from “real people” at a relatively early age, with a resultant diminution in both ability and ambition to serve individuals directly.

vARIETY there are two other distinct advantages to public service law. First, most public service legal positions tend to carry with them a greater substantive variety than the majority of private lawyers enjoy. while again this is a generalisation with exceptions on both sides, the nature of private practice law means that lawyers can tend to become pigeonholed in a very narrow field by virtue of their very success in it, while public service lawyers who are successful in one area are likely to be given opportunities to demonstrate their ability as in others as well.

ExcITEMENT secondly, and again subject to exceptions, public law is, to put it quite simply, both interesting and important. as a rule, one is asked to deal with issues that really matter to large numbers of people, and whether one is dealing with constitutional, economic, or other social issues, it is rarely difficult to find them both technically interesting and substantively exciting.

ThE DoWNSIDE so what are the drawbacks? there is only really one that i can think of: a relatively low level of pay. that was, of course, once balanced by exceptionally generous arrangements for pensions, but those have been drastically curtailed in the last year or so and are now to be treated with a considerable degree of caution. in surveys about job satisfaction, however, it is noticeable that pay is not generally regarded by most people as the most significant criterion in determining whether or not their job is enjoyable to do.

at the end of the day, a person may feel obliged to take a less stimulating or interesting job because it is more likely to be able to provide the level of income that he or she needs; and a lawyer may be attracted to a career at the Bar or in private practice in the City or elsewhere for all kinds of sensible reasons related to the quality of the work they will receive; but for a law student looking out into the void and thinking “what kind of a legal career would suit me best”, public service law should at least not be forgotten or immediately discounted. n

daniel greenberg served as a government lawyer from 1988 to 2010, first as a legal adviser to the lord Chancellor and then as parliamentary Counsel, where he drafted acts of parliament in almost every field of law imaginable, including tax, environmental law and constitutional law. he now combines a consultancy in Berwin leighton paisner llp with a range of other interests, including public law positions and a considerable amount of writing, including as general editor of annotated statutes, westlaw uK, and as editor of Craies on legislation, stroud’s Judicial dictionary and Jowitt’s dictionary of english law.

his latest book laying down the law (sweet & Maxwell, May 2011) gives an insider’s view into the making of legislation today, and is aimed primarily at law and politics academics and students, as well as at legal practitioners and politicians.

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Related eBook Laying Down the Law by Daniel Greenberg

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DEcISIoNSDEcISIoNS

AS A FIRST YEAR AT UNIvERSITY, ThE LAST ThINg YoU WANT To BE ThINKINg ABoUT IS WhAT YoU WILL BE DoINg oNcE YoU gRADUATE. BUT IF YoU WANT To coMPETE IN ThE INTENSE coMPETITIoN FoR joBS, YoU DoN’T REALLY hAvE MUch oF A choIcE. ThE SooNER YoU ThINK ABoUT IT, ThE MoRE LIKELY YoU ARE To BE SUccESSFUL.i wish i had been told this in my first year, but as with most people, the thought of what i would be doing past twenty-one had never crossed my mind. i was too excited about starting university to be thinking about the future, but if i could do it again, i would have at least started considering it in more detail in my first and second year. with this in mind, what should you be doing to be gearing yourself up for the future?

FIRST ThINgS FIRST as First years, make sure you study hard for your first year exams because whether you want to be a barrister or a solicitor, they matter. whilst they may not count towards your degree, they are the only indicators a firm or chambers will have for how your finals will go. so, at the very least, you will want to get a 2:1 so that firms will be confident that come finals, you will be likely to achieve a 2:1.

so that’s the basics, but in today’s job market, you need a lot more than impressive First year results to get a job. so you next have to ask yourself, what do i want to be – a barrister, a solicitor, or something else. >

MARY AShLEY is a recent graduate from the university of oxford. in a guest article for the law student, Mary considers the decisions you have to make on the path to becoming a lawyer.

DEcISIoNSDEcISIoNS

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BARRISTERS vS SoLIcIToRS the first thing you will need to understand is the difference between barristers and solicitors. as an american, when i first arrived, i had no idea that there were two types of lawyers in the uK. so what are the key differences?

• Thefirstmajordifferenceistheenvironmentin which they work. a solicitor will generally work as a member of a team in a firm or as part of a legal team in a large company. a barrister, however, will generally work alone, or in a small team with other barristers where the case is large enough, as a self-employed individual.

• Thesecondmajordifferenceistherightsof audience. this means a lawyer can appear in court and conduct proceedings. a barrister has the right to appear in any level of court from County Courts to the supreme Court. solicitors generally have far less rights, unless they become solicitor advocates, but that is a whole different issue! so as a basic distinction, barristers can appear in any courts, solicitors can appear in selected lower courts.

• Thethirdmajordifferenceistheactualwork practiced. if you enjoy business / commercial issues with a legal edge, then you will more likely enjoy the work of a solicitor. however, if you thrive on problem questions / contentious legal issues, then you will more likely want to be a barrister.

so with this in mind, what should you do to make the decision clear for you or to make either happen? the best answer to this is work experience.

chooSINg A vAcATIoN SchEME the best way to establish whether you prefer the business / commercial side of the law is to do a vacation scheme. Firms offer many of these and you will want to apply during Christmas break of the second year of your law degree.

so what should you consider when applying for a vacation scheme? First, what area of the law are you interested in. there is a vast difference between the work of a commercial solicitor and a private client solicitor. top commercial firms will be dealing with the mergers, acquisitions, and corporate financing of some of the top companies in the world whilst family solicitors will be dealing with wills, trusts, and divorce. Criminal solicitors do completely different work and probably spend a lot of time in the police station or a Magistrate’s Court. so you really have to ask yourself what type of law interests you.

if you can figure that out, then you are half way there, but you still have to ask yourself a number of questions.

• Whatsizeoffirmwouldyouliketoworkfor?Thesecanvaryhugelyandwillmake a massive difference to your working life so you have to consider this carefully.

• Wherewouldyouliketowork,andwouldyouliketheopportunityforinternational secondments?

• Howlargeofanintakewouldyouliketobepartof?

• Howmanyseatswouldyouliketodo?Firmshavedifferentpoliciesabouthow many seats you have to do / how they structure them.

• Youwillalsowanttoconsidertheatmosphereofthefirm.Everyfirmhasa reputation for a different atmosphere, and you will want to consider this to see if you fit in and actually enjoy working there.

APPLYINg FoR A vAcATIoN SchEME after considering all of these issues, you will then want to apply for a vacation scheme. the best advice i can give you for that is to apply early! also, ensure that you have checked your application for spelling errors / grammar mistakes because with the amount of applications firms receive, any small error can get your application thrown out immediately. Make sure you answer the question in front of you, not the question you want to be in front of you. and do not copy and paste your applications! >

chooSINg A MINI-PUPILLAgE so if a vacation scheme does not seem for you, then perhaps you should consider a career as a barrister. the work a barrister tends to engage in is the more contentious work. or, where there is a particularly difficult point of law, then a solicitor may look to a barrister for an opinion for confirmation.

• First,aswithasolicitor,youhavetoconsiderthetypeoflawyouareinterested in. there are various different bars (i.e. the commercial bar, the family bar, the revenue bar, the criminal bar, etc...) and the differences between them are vast.

• Second,youhavetoconsiderhowmuchadvocacyyouwanttodo.Asatax barrister, you may see the inside of a court once a year, but as a criminal barrister, you will probably forget what your office looks like. so you have to ask yourself if you can handle the pressure of appearing in court everyday because this will greatly affect which area of the bar you want to go to, or even if you want to go to the bar at all.

• Third,youwillhavetoaskyourselfhowmuchclientcontactyouwouldlike. generally barristers are instructed by solicitors rather than private individuals / companies, so you will not have much client contact which can be a good or bad thing.

• Fourth,youwillhavetoconsiderwhereyouwanttowork.Thistiesintothetypeof work you want to do because generally the major commercial deals will be done in london, so if that’s what you want to do, then your location is very limited. however, if you want to do family law, there are sets all around the country so you have the opportunity to practice wherever you want.

APPLYINg FoR A MINI-PUPILLAgE so if this seems more along the lines of what you would like to do, then you need to apply for mini-pupillages. My best advice for this is to read different websites for chambers as they all tend to require slightly different applications. some want CV and covering letter and others want you to fill out their online form. they also all have different closing dates for different times in the year, so make sure you take this into account. as before, make sure there are no spelling errors or grammar mistakes and that you do not simply mail merge all your applications – this can end in disaster.

as you can see, choosing whether or not to become a barrister or a solicitor is not the end of the journey. the differences between different types of solicitors and barristers are almost as great as the difference between solicitors and barristers. so the best advice i can give for you to make a decision is to at the very least choose the area of law you may be interested in, and then do work experience. there is nothing like first hand experience to show you what it is really like to do either of these professions. n

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Boo

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ELF

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A gUIDE To SWEET & MAxWELL’S DIFFERENT SERIES To hELP YoU chooSE ThE RIghT TExTBooK.

gETTINg STARTEDLEARNINg ThE LAW looking for an overview of learning the law? glanville williams’ learning the law and the osborn law dictionary (also available as an iphone & ipad app) are designed to get you started.

difficulty: •NUTcASES AND NUTShELLS looking for a quick starter or revision guide? nutshells are an ideal starter for the subject, giving a full overview, while nutcases will give you a case analysis of the facts, principles and decisions of the most important cases.

difficulty: •LEgAL SKILLS looking to build your essential legal skills? achieve success both at university and your future career with our legal skills series.

difficulty: •

BUILDINg YoUR KNoWLEDgE

NEW PERSPEcTIvES

ThE FUNDAMENTALS looking for a clear, accessible introduction to the fundamentals?

difficulty:••TExTBooK SERIES looking for a clear and current picture of the law with additional depth?

difficulty:•••cLASSIcS looking for a text that will help you achieve top marks?

difficulty: ••••

TExT & MATERIALS looking for a theoretical approach with everything in one book?

difficulty: •••cASES & MATERIALS looking for a combination textbook and casebook?

difficulty: •••LAW & PRAcTIcE looking for a textbook on the practical operation of law?

difficulty: •••

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3 STEPS To EASY RESEARchfinding the right material for your assignments is a key part of your law course. But this doesn’t have to be a nightmare. in fact, all you need are 3 steps to find what you are looking for.

“I WESTLAW’D IT!”

STEP 1 If it is a definition you are looking for then a good place to start is the Index of Legal Terms. This feature will let you search across 3 reputed dictionaries i.e Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law, Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary and Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary. The Index of Legal Terms also retrieves definitions from Cases, Legislation and Journal articles. So now you have a working definition to start your assignment with.

If you are looking for an answer to your assignment question, then try the Natural Language search. This search feature lets you type in a question and will then retrieve 100 relevant results. It searches across all Westlaw UK content like Cases, Legislation, Journals, Current Awareness and even EU!

STEP 2 You can either use terms in context to get a snippet of the case or the status icons which will point out the best cases. Once you find the relevant case, click into the case analysis document to read the abstract. Look to the left for supporting information like cases that have cited the case afterwards, legislation cited, journal articles written about it and practitioner textbooks that have discussed it.

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STEP 3 To impress your tutors and get extra marks, just run a search in the Current Awareness tab to find any recent information. Whether it’s an abstract of a new journal article or a recently released government paper, Current Awareness will find it for you. So all you need to do is find the information and put it into your assignment and get extra marks for the effort. It’s as easy as that!

We also offer free online training sessions on Westlaw UK. These sessions range from basic training which covers features like searching for cases, legislation and journal articles to more advanced training which is aimed at developing practical research skills. All of them are certified so on successful completion of the online test you will receive a shiny new certificate in the post!

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WhAT IS

AND WhY ShoULD YoU Do IT? DAN hILL REvEALS ALL...

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A moot is a competitive mock court hearing. it invariably involves two teams of two advocates, one senior or leading Counsel and one junior Counsel. Both teams argue the legal

merits of an appeal in a fictitious case before a judge - typically a law lecturer, post-graduate student or junior practitioner - or a panel of judges. one team represents the fictitious appellant i.e., the party that lost in the lower court and is appealing against that decision, and the other team represents the fictitious respondent, i.e., the party that won before the lower court and wants that decision to be upheld on appeal.

in advance of the moot, the teams are informed which party they will represent at the moot. they also receive - typically one week before the moot takes place - identical copies of a written legal problem, which is normally no more than two pages long. the problem will summarise the decision of the lower court and normally list the grounds of appeal against the lower court’s decision that will be argued in the course of the moot. often, although by no means always, the problem is based on a reported case, but with certain added twists to ensure that the points it raises have not already been decided by the courts.

the teams have free reign to prepare for the moot as they see fit subject to any formal requirements set out in the competition rules. Most mooting competitions, for example, limit the number of authorities that each team can rely on in support of its submissions.

the moot is generally held in a class room large enough to accommodate the teams, the judge, a clerk (whose primary function is to act as a timekeeper) and the audience.

Most mooting competitions specify the maximum amount of time that each team member is allowed in which to present his submissions. Just as in real life, the moot judge has the right to interrupt the mooters at any time during their submissions to ask whatever questions he wishes. some mooting competitions, but not all, ignore the time taken to ask and answer questions in computing the maximum period allowed for each mooter’s submissions.

submissions should be limited to points of law, although there may be occasions when arguments of policy are appropriate. it is a golden rule of mooting that the mooters accept as a given the facts set out in the problem, however implausible they may seem and however inconvenient they may be to the points that they wish to make.

at the end of the moot, often after retiring for a short time, the moot judge gives judgment. he usually begins his judgment by expressing a view on the point(s) of law argued before him and deciding which of the fictitious parties was successful on the appeal. he will then go on to give his verdict on the moot. Most judges briefly address what they regard as the strengths and weaknesses of each mooter (as tactfully as possible), and offer some words of wisdom on advocacy technique before announcing their decision.

MooTINg

WhAT IS

AND WhY ShoULD YoU Do IT? DAN hILL REvEALS ALL...

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the winner of the moot is the team that, in the view of the moot judge, presented the most persuasive legal arguments. it is accordingly entirely possible – and indeed very common – for the winning team to lose the substantive legal argument.

WhY ShoULD YoU MooT? Mooting is hard work. if taken remotely seriously, it involves many hours of leafing through case reports and textbooks, it forces the participants to think deeply about the legal issues that the moot problem raises and it can induce in those lacking nerves of steel stress levels on a par with major examinations.

so why moot? why put yourself through the hard work, the stress and the possibility of keeling over in public? in truth, there are many reasons. we set out some of them below, focusing on those reasons provided to us by students who have participated in the mooting competition organised by the College of law’s store street branch.

MooTINg hELPS YoU To ThINK LIKE A LAWYER in preparing for and appearing in a moot, the participants must do exactly the same things that most practising lawyers do on a daily basis: they must absorb a set of facts; they must work out which of those facts are critical and which superfluous; they must identify the relevant legal principles; and they must apply those principles to the facts. not only that, they must analyse the moot problem from a variety of different angles in order to anticipate and hopefully meet the arguments that the other side is likely to make.

For practitioners, the ability to analyse in this way is essential to enable them to argue both sides of a case effectively and to ensure that they provide a balanced and realistic appraisal of the merits of the case to their client. at the student level, analytical skills are vital when answering problem questions in exams. these generally require students to present both sides of the legal argument, a skill with which many students struggle.

MooTINg IS ThE MoST EFFEcTIvE WAY To LEARN ThE LAW in order to present persuasive arguments, mooters must develop a deep understanding of the areas of law with which their moot problem is concerned. in order to do so, they must develop their researching skills beyond those otherwise

required by the legal syllabus. it is not enough, for example, to read a few passages from a textbook or scan the headnotes of a couple of leading cases. the mooter must instead read the entirety of a large number of reported decisions, identify the most important judgments and work out the ratio of each case.

Moreover, since moot problems tend to raise “sexy” issues in core subjects (typically the law of contract or tort), there is very often an overlap with exam questions. Many of the students at the College of law have told us that they remembered the law covered in the moot problems so well that they only needed to do minimal revision for their end of year exams in those areas.

MooTINg IMPRovES YoUR PUBLIc SPEAKINg AND PRESENTATIoNAL SKILLS Mooting is a form – albeit a specialised form – of public speaking. the subject-matter may be technical and the audiences generally small, but it is still a much-needed opportunity to get up on your feet in public.

For those intent on a career at the Bar or as a solicitor-advocate, mooting practice is plainly invaluable. But being able to present and, if necessary, defend a reasoned case is something that all lawyers must do. even those who end up, for example, as corporate lawyers and who will consequently be very unlikely to find themselves appearing in court, need to develop the ability to make formal presentations to clients or to provide internal training to junior members of the department. >

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MooTINg MAKES YoU MoRE EMPLoYABLEadvocacy used to be the preserve of the Bar. although there are now greater opportunities than ever before for solicitors to appear in court, advocacy remains a small and specialist area in terms of the number of practitioners relative to the entire legal profession. it is consequently a competitive area to break into.

students wishing to become advocates must accordingly show their potential employers and members of chambers that they are genuinely interested in and committed to life as an advocate. there is no better way to communicate that message than to moot. indeed, for budding barristers, a history of mooting is almost a requirement for a convincing CV.

we have also been told that an added advantage of mooting from a careers perspective is that it gives the participants confi dence at job interviews to deal robustly with interviewers’ questions. it seems that the experience of sticking to your guns in the face of a moot judge reduces the likelihood of giving a panicky off-the-cuff answer in an interview.

as well as getting you a job, mooting may help you not to get a job; at least, not to get a job for which you are not best suited. in particular, the similarity between mooting and real-life advocacy can demonstrate to the student who is thinking of a life as an advocate that such a life really is not for him.

MooTINg IS FUNBelieve it or not, in my experience, the vast majority of students really enjoy mooting. like most public speaking, mooting is genuinely exhilarating. a polished performance, whether on the winning or losing side, gives an enormous sense of achievement. it is not all about personal advancement either. Mooting is a social activity. it provides an opportunity to get to know your partner well and to meet other students and members of staff in your faculty or college. in some institutions, where student numbers are large and the opportunities to meet limited, this is a real advantage. n

dan hill is the co-author with david pope of mooting and advocacy skills (2nd edition, sweet & Maxwell).

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ExA

M/Q

&A

RoBERT DUxBURYANSWERINg PRoBLEM QUESTIoNS oN coNTRAcT LAWFUNDAMENTALLY, ANSWERINg PRoBLEM QUESTIoNS IN coNTRAcT DoES NoT DIFFER FRoM ANSWERINg SUch QUESTIoNS IN ANY oThER AREA oF LAW. IN ANY LEgAL SUBjEcT, YoU ShoULD BEgIN YoUR ANSWER BY IDENTIFYINg ThE LEgAL ISSUES RAISED BY ThE PRoBLEM; YoU ShoULD ThEN ExPLAIN ThE LEgAL RULES RELEvANT To ThoSE ISSUES; NExT, APPLY ThoSE RULES To ThE FAcTS; AND FINALLY coME To SoME SoRT oF REASoNED coNcLUSIoN To ThE PRoBLEM.

Credit will be given for explaining the relevant lawwith clarity and precision and, where appropriate, both sides of the legal argument should be explored. Markers will reward in particular the ability to construct a well-reasoned legal argument, supported by appropriate authority – this should of course be a relevant case, statute or other recognised source of law.

this article examines four areas of contract law which are much-favoured by the examiners, and aims to provide guidance on the nature of the questions (or parts of questions) you may face on these areas and the best way of tackling them. they are also topics which require a particular analytical approach when it comes to answering problem questions. although there has been some statutory intervention, most notably with the unfair Contract terms act 1977 (uCta 1977), contract is still largely a case law subject. you will therefore need a sound grasp of the case law to do well. i mention this because unfamiliarity with the relevant cases is one of the most common failings in students attempting problem questions in contract law. i should add – for the avoidance of any doubt – that a similarly sound knowledge of the statutory law is also required. we will consider below problem answering in the following areas of contract: offer and acceptance; exclusion clauses; misrepresentation; and discharge by frustration.

oFFER AND AccEPTANcEoffer and acceptance is an area where there are a lot of rules, almost entirely contained in cases, and you can expect to be tested on the interplay between the

various rules. For example, the outcome of a question may turn on whether an advertisement is an invitation to treat (as in Partridge v Crittenden, 1968) or an offer, which, if accepted will result in a unilateral contract (as in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, Ca, 1893). as mentioned above, it is vital here to consider the law on both sides of the argument before coming to a conclusion as to the most likely outcome on the facts.

Questions may also turn on whether there has been a counter-offer or a mere request for information; whether the postal rule of acceptance applies; or whether there has been an effective revocation of the offer. the fact that a postal acceptance is as a general rule effective on posting may have to be considered against a revocation, which is only effective when it is received (see Byrne & Co v Van Tienhoven & Co, 1880 where the postal rule prevailed).

don’t forget that the postal rule is essentially a rule of convenience; in an examination or coursework question you are likely to be tested on those situations where the rule may not apply – these include where the letter is not properly addressed or where the express terms of the offer exclude the postal rule. you will score a higher mark by being aware of, and displaying an ability to apply, the exceptions to a rule (where relevant) rather than merely stating the rule itself.

ExcLUSIoN cLAUSESexclusion clauses (the expression is used so as toextend also to limitation clauses) is a multi-layered topic – there are long-established common law principles and there is more recent statutory >

ExAM/Q&A

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regulation. in terms of approach, it is advisable to apply the common law rules first. you will need to analyse the facts to see whether the clause is incorporated, whether by signature, notice or by previous dealings. you should then consider the construction of the clause. Remember here, that since the passing of uCta 1977, the courts no longer need to resort to “strained” construction to restrict the operation of exclusion clauses. Remember also that limitation clauses are construed much less stringently than exclusion clauses.

having considered the common law rules, you should then turn to the application of the statutory provisions. Consider which of the operative sections of uCta 1977 apply. in some cases, the clause must satisfy the requirement of reasonableness in s.11, in others the clause may be invalid. it is vital to have a thorough understanding of these provisions and how they operate.

don’t forget that, in the case of consumer contracts, there is a further tier of regulation in the shape of the unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. these regulations will have to be considered, where they apply, in addition to uCta 1977. a common error is to treat the regulations as if they were of general application; in fact, they only apply to unfair terms in contracts concluded between a seller/supplier and a “consumer” (who is defined as a natural person who is acting for purposes outside his trade, business or profession).

MISREPRESENTATIoN in a problem question on this topic, as a preliminary issue, you may first have to consider whether any of the statements made are representations or terms. if the latter, the remedy will lie in breach of contract, not misrepresentation. you should apply the established criteria to this distinction, which entail looking at the manner and timing of the statement; the importance of the statement; any special knowledge and skill possessed by one party; and whether or not the statement has been reduced to writing.

secondly, if any statements are classifiable as representations, you will have to consider whether there has been any actionable misrepresentation. on this issue, you must examine the statements closely. you should bear in mind that there is a fine line between, eg statements of opinion and statements of fact, and be on your guard for statements that are actionable because they amount to a “half-truth” or where there has been a change of circumstances since the making of the statement.

thirdly, you must attempt to establish whether statements are fraudulent, negligent or wholly innocent. this can be difficult but remember that, under s.2(1) of the Misrepresentation act 1967, the false statement is assumed to be fraudulent (the “fiction of fraud”) and the burden is placed on the maker of the statement to prove that it was wholly innocent, ie that they had reasonable grounds for believing in its truth.

Finally, you should consider remedies. here you will need to consider whether rescission is available or whether it has been barred, eg by affirmation. the type of misrepresentation (ie fraudulent, negligent or innocent) is significant in terms of the damages available. where misrepresentation is negligent under s.2(1), damages may be awarded on the same basis as fraud.

FRUSTRATIoN problem questions on frustration usually involve a two stage process. First, one may have to consider whether the contract is frustrated. the situations in which a contract may be so discharged cannot be exhaustively listed, so it is important to explain the general test for frustration, ie that there must be such a change in the significance of the obligation, that the thing undertaken, if performed, would be something different from that contracted for; see lord Radcliffe in Davis Contractors Ltd v Fareham UDC, hl, 1956. Mere hardship, inconvenience or loss will not suffice – frustration is exceptional. there may be deliberate ambiguity in the question, for example, it may state simply that the subject matter of the contract “was

destroyed by fire”. it will not tell you how the fire was started. you will need to point out that if the fire was started as a result of the fault of one of the parties, the contract will not be frustrated and will be a case of breach; if begun without such fault, it may be a case of frustration.

secondly, you will almost certainly be required to consider the legal consequences of frustration. the difficulty here is that, at common law the contract was discharged from the moment of frustration onwards. the effects of this operated very harshly and as a result, the law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) act 1943 was passed. a question is likely to concentrate on those aspects of the act of which the scope is uncertain. those students who handle the provisions of the act reasonably competently tend to obtain the best marks.

when it comes to examinations, an important part of your preparation should be thinking how you will answer questions on a particular topic. in an unseen examination, you will not know in advance the particular questions that will come up. But by carefully reviewing the questions your tutors have set you in contract seminars and courseworks, you should learn something about the type of questions that are likely to face you in the examination. use that knowledge wisely. preparing for examinations is more than merely committing the law to memory, vitally important though that is. n

Robert duxbury is the author of the new 2nd edition of Contract law textbook (sweet & Maxwell, 2011).

Related free podcast at uklawstudent.thomsonreuters.com

Related eBook Contract Law Textbook by Robert Duxbury

>

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are important to you, providing you quick and easy access to your own essential list of terms.

the app is available in the itunes store and ios app store priced £9.99.

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LAW IN ThE REAL

WoRLDDR PENNY DARBYShIRE

LAW REgULATES hUMAN BEhAvIoUR. ThE STUDENT NEEDS To REMEMBER ThAT LAW IS AcTED oUT DAILY IN ThE REAL WoRLD. IT IS NoT coNFINED To ThE WRITTEN WoRD. oNLY BY vENTURINg oUT cAN WE UNDERSTAND hoW IT APPLIES IN PRAcTIcE. WE cAN ThEN jUDgE FoR oURSELvES WhEThER IT IS WoRKINg AS INTENDED oR WhEThER ThERE IS A gAP BETWEEN ThE LAW MAKER’S INTENTIoNS AND ITS PRAcTIcAL oPERATIoN. IN TAKINg ThEMSELF oUT oF ThEIR RooM AND LEcTURE ThEATRE, ThE LAW STUDENT cAN DEMoNSTRATE To ThEIR ExAMINERS AND To PoTENTIAL EMPLoYERS ThAT ThEY hAvE AN INQUIRINg MIND, AN APPREcIATIoN oF ThE IMPoRTANcE oF LAW IN PRAcTIcE AND ThE ENERgY, coNFIDENcE AND oRgANISATIoNAL SKILLS To NAvIgATE ThEMSELF ARoUND ThE SYSTEM.

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In england and wales, we are privileged to be able to explore one of the world’s oldest established legal structures, the mother of english-speaking legal systems and of the substantive common law, worldwide. london’s

courts are of global importance, both now and historically. Judges from the world’s top courts have been influenced by the reasoning of the uK supreme Court Justices and their predecessor law lords, not just in developing the world’s common law but through the eu and human rights cases that dominate our top court’s lists. london’s Commercial Court supports not just the international trade and business transactions of the City of london but adjudicates in contact and tort disputes of many foreigners, because english law is their law of choice. 70 per cent of Commercial Court cases involve one or more foreign states or foreign legal entities. there are dozens of international law firms in london. the uK is the second biggest exporter of legal services in the world. uK lawyers are the most mobile in europe.

nevertheless, for people living in england and wales, the most important courts are the local county courts, the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court because for most people a court appearance as a party or witness will involve one of these.

it is rewarding and exciting to spend a day or more observing courts and tribunals, or work-shadowing a solicitor, or barrister, or judge, or magistrate. the student who makes a hobby of this and gains a variety of experiences will really broaden and deepen her knowledge of legal practice and this will make her academic studies far more real to her. the courts provide free daily entertainment from 10 o’clock. there are several courts and tribunals within easy access of all localities in england and wales.

all court addresses, phone numbers and directions are on hM Courts & tribunals service website in the Court Finder list. Before planning observation of a small court, it is worth telephoning in advance to check that the court will be sitting and will be open to the public. youth court proceedings in the magistrates’ court and some family proceedings are closed to the public, though the student may obtain special permission to observe, provided this is arranged at least a few days in advance. london houses the biggest tourist attractions, such as the old Bailey, correctly known as the Central Criminal Court and steeped in the ancient pageantry of the City of london, and the Victorian gothic Royal Courts of Justice, housing the Court of appeal and high Court. the sparkly uK supreme Court, opened in 2009, was designed to maximise visitor attractiveness, with a really useful website and toys and a cafe in the basement.

the student may like to follow my walking tour of legal london, to be found on the website. this goes via st paul’s cathedral to the old Bailey, then into “legal london” and the Royal Courts of Justice and on to the quiet backwaters and pretty gardens of the inns of Court, to which all barristers must belong and which were the training colleges in the common law when the universities only taught Roman law. in visiting courts, it is wise to arrive early, to eavesdrop on the last minute negotiations taking place.

taking myself into the legal system since my student days, to observe cases and talk to the people working in it enriches my lectures and my els textbook because i am confident that what i am saying is accurate and rooted in the real world. i would urge any law student to do the same. it’s not just effective self-education, it’s enormous fun and a great privilege. n

dr penny darbyshire is the author of darbyshire on the english legal system (sweet & Maxwell, 10th edition, september 2011) and sitting in Judgment: the working lives of Judges (hart, october 2011)

ReuteRs / yuriko nakao

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Related eBook Darbyshire on the English Legal System

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ThE INTRUSIoN oF ToRT LAW cLAIMS INTo oUR DAILY LIvES hAS LED To FEARS oF A “coMPENSATIoN cULTURE” WhEREBY INDIvIDUALS, Who hAvE BEEN INjURED, SEEK To FIND SoMEoNE ELSE To BLAME Who WILL PAY ThEM coMPENSATIoN FoR ThEIR INjURIES.

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The danger here is that rather than seeking to take care (and thereby avoid any accidents), individuals will feel free to take risks, safe in the knowledge that if an accident results, they will be able

to sue someone (usually a public body) for failing to prevent them from taking that risk. this is exactly the situation the house of lords faced in Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council [2003] uKhl 47, where Mr tomlinson, who was fully aware that swimming was prohibited, dived into a natural lake in a public park and sued the council when he was injured. lord hoffmann refused to impose liability when an adult had freely and voluntarily undertaken an obvious risk.

similarly in Poppleton v Trustees of the Portsmouth Youth Activities Committee [2008] ewCa Civ 646, Mr poppleton (a paying visitor to a climbing wall) had misjudged a jump and fallen, landing on his head on the safety matting on the floor. the Court of appeal again denied liability – it was an obvious risk, he was an adult who was fully aware of the dangers of climbing and he could not blame the defendants for his accident. as lord hoffmann indicated in Tomlinson, if people wish to climb mountains, go hang gliding or swim or dive into ponds or lakes, it is their choice. the law does not require landowners to prevent visitors from undertaking any risky activities.

a recent case, which was decided in august 2011, re-iterates these concerns. it received considerable press coverage due to fears that householders might find themselves liable to pay compensation for accidents occurring during a teenage party. Grimes v Hawkins [2011] ewhC 2004 (QB) involved a claim by Kylie grimes (18 at the time of the incident) for compensation for the serious injuries she suffered whilst diving into the swimming pool at the home of david hawkins. she had been invited to the house by Mr hawkins’ daughter, Katie, who had decided to hold a party in her parents’ absence (her parents being told that she would invite two to four friends to keep her company whilst they were away). some alcohol was consumed, although Kylie grimes was not drunk at the time of the accident, but sadly her dive into the hawkins’ pool was misjudged. she struck her head and was left paralysed from the chest down.

Mrs Justice thirlwall had considerable sympathy for Ms grimes’ plight. she had been a healthy, athletic and keen sportswoman before the accident and the

impact on her life of the events of that night had been catastrophic. Ms grimes’ lawyers argued that in view of the risks of late-night swimming, the pool house should have been locked or warning notices displayed alerting swimmers to the risks of diving into a sloping pool where the deep end occupied only one fifth of the length of the pool. the judge, however, disagreed. it was an ordinary domestic swimming pool. there was nothing unusual about its shape, either above or below the water. it was well lit. there were no hidden hazards. the risk, therefore, was inherent in the act of diving. the duty owed by an occupier to visitors under the occupiers’ liability act 1957 would not require the defendant to put the pool out of bounds to visitors, all of whom were adults and making free and voluntary choices about their behaviour. nor was there any breach of a duty of care under the ordinary tort of negligence. the judge concluded, however, that if there had been some hidden or unexpected hazards, her view might have been different.

the english courts are therefore very alert to the dangers of the “compensation culture” and in a number of decisions have sought to emphasise that individuals, undertaking risky activities, must take responsibility for their own actions. this, of course, promotes accident prevention – it is surely better to encourage people to avoid accidents rather than simply giving compensation when they occur. Grimes v Hawkins also raises the interesting question of the extent to which the law permits us to sue our friends and family; tort law generally seeking to avoid interfering in domestic situations. Ms grimes may have been a friend of Katie hawkins, but in view of the severity of her injuries, it was in her interests to bring a claim. add to this, the hawkins lived in a £1.5 million house in surrey and were covered by insurance. there are, however, limits. Ms grimes brought a claim for £6 million, far in excess of Mr hawkins’ insurance cover and his lawyers submitted that if her claim had been successful, he would have faced bankruptcy. would liability be fair in this context?

Grimes v Hawkins is a reminder of the relevance and prevalence of tort law claims in our daily lives. ms grimes is still pursuing a second claim against her local hospital, alleging negligent treatment after the accident took place. the hospital denies making any worse ms grimes’ serious injury. the story, therefore, continues… n

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paula giliker and silas Beckwith’s tort textbook is available now in its 4th editon (sweet & Maxwell, 2011).

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DUNcAN BLoY

coNTEMPT oF coURT AND MEDIA PUBLIcATIoNS

in 2003 in the aftermath of the trial of ian huntley and Maxine Carr for the murders of holly wells and Jessica Chapman the attorney-general lord goldsmith referred to the media’s reporting prior to and during the trial as ‘frankly unacceptable.’1 in december 2006 in a Radio 4 interview he said:

“I ThINK ThE TIME hAS coME To ASK ThE MEDIA, To URgE ThE MEDIA, To ExERcISE RESTRAINT IN ThE REPoRTINg oF ThESE EvENTS, ThoUgh...IT IS FoR ThEM To TAKE ThEIR oWN LEgAL ADvIcE.2

alun Jones QC wrote to the times newspaper in september 2008 and posed the question ‘has the law on contempt ceased to apply to the media?’3 the then attorney-general Baroness scotland responded by saying that her office would bring prosecutions against the media if the facts warranted such action being taken.

the issue at the centre of these comments and questions is to be found in the Contempt of Court act 1981 and in particular the strict liability rule contained in section 1 of the act. this states that conduct will be treated as a contempt of court if it tends ‘to interfere with the course of justice in particular legal proceedings regardless of intent to do so.’ the objective of the legislation is to avoid what is generally referred to as ‘trial by media.’ in this country every person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until the opposite conclusion is reached as a result of a properly conducted trial before magistrates or a jury. article 6(2) of the european Convention on human Rights also guarantees that common law principle. article 6 (1) states that ‘everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.’

the assumed difficulty lies with jury trials. Major criminal offences are tried at Crown Court in front of a jury. the expectation is that jury members will reach decisions based solely upon the evidence they have heard in court. they should not be influenced in any way by publicity about the accused gleaned from media reports prior to the trial or even media reporting during the course of a trial.

it is in fact impossible to know whether juries are actually affected by pre-trial reporting as section 8 of the Contempt of Court act makes it an offence to attempt to discover information from jury members as to how they reached their decisions.

1. law for Journalists Conference november 2003 2. Radio 4 december 21st 2006. 3. september 10th 2008. 4. Contempt of Court act 1981 s.2(2)

37

so the law proceeds upon an assumption that jurors are likely to be influenced by high profile media reporting.

the provisions of the 1981 act ‘kick-in’ once proceedings are deemed to be ‘active.’ in practice this means when a warrant has been issued for a person’s arrest, there has been an arrest or the person has been charged with an offence. once proceedings are active the media is expected not to publish anything that ‘...creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced.’4 the most obvious example is that any previous convictions of the defendant should not be made known to the public.

REcENT cASES the issue has been highlighted by two cases that have reached the courts in 2011. in March the high Court delivered its judgment in Her Majesty’s Attorney-General v. Associated Newspapers Ltd and News Group Newspapers Ltd [2011] ewhC 418 (admin) and in July in Her Majesty’s Attorney-General v. MGN Ltd and News Group Newspapers Ltd [2011] ewhC 2074 (admin).

the former case introduced a new dimension to the application of the contempt principles in that it is the first case in england and wales to consider whether a publication on the online websites of two national newspapers amounted to contempt of court. the facts are very straightforward. the publication related to a murder trial. at 5pm on the first day of the trial the Mail online website carried a photograph of the defendant holding a gun. it was on the site for nearly five hours. any jury member searching the web that evening for news of the trial in which they were participating may have come across the photograph. the photograph which was being used to accompany a report of the trial should have been cropped to show only the head and shoulders of the defendant. the uncropped photograph also appeared on the sun newspaper website in the early hours of the next morning and for the rest of the day. in fact none of the jury members did see the photograph and the trial proceeded as normal. nevertheless the attorney-general brought contempt proceedings against the newspapers.

the latter case related to the publicity surrounding the arrest of Chris Jefferies the landlord of Joanne yeates whose body had been found on the outskirts of Bristol just before Christmas 2010. it will be recalled that Jefferies was completely innocent of any involvement in her death and another man has confessed to >

38

her killing. so unlike the first case this one did not involve any proceedings against the person arrested. nevertheless action can be taken in respect of any publication after proceedings become active-in this case once Jefferies had been arrested. the following are examples of the reporting in both the daily Mirror and the sun:

the sun carried a headline on the 1st January 2011 after Jefferies had been arrested saying that he was “obsessed by death.” there was a report that a former acquaintance stated that she felt she was being followed by him. the thrust of the story was that he liked blondes and Joanne yeates was also blond. the Mirror ran a story saying that Ms yeates killer may have been waiting for her in her flat yet there was no sign of forced entry. the implication was that someone had a key and the obvious person was her landlord. the attorney-general submitted that additional Mirror reporting:

a) implied that Mr Jefferies was a sexually perverted voyeur who spied on his tenants in their bedrooms and elsewhere;

b) that he was a friend of a convicted paedophile guilty of very serious offenses; and

c) that the police regarded him as a prime suspect for the murder of another young woman in Bristol in 1974. her body was found in the grounds of Clifton College were Mr Jefferies was working at the time.

in each case the court found the newspapers in contempt. in the former case the newspapers were fined £15,000 each and in the latter the Mirror was fined £50,000 and the sun £18,000. the figure of £50,000 against the Mirror reflects the gravity of the offence. the previous highest penalty for contempt by the media was £75,000 imposed on the sunday Mirror in 2002.

PRINcIPLES so what principles can be gleaned from the cases? it must be remembered that it is up to the respective media outlets to decide on how far they can go in order to stay within the provisions of the act.

• Firstitmustrememberedthattheoffenceisoneof strict liability. this means that the attorney-general does not have to show that the media through its reporting intended to prejudice legal proceedings. • SecondlyastheJefferiescaseshowsthereisnoneed for there to actually be legal proceedings pending. what is being considered is whether at the moment of publication the articles or pictures

or both created a substantial risk that any future proceedings might be seriously prejudiced. [see also the Attorney-General v. Express Newspapers [2004] EWHC 2859 (Admin)] • Crucialtomakingafinaldecisionisthemeaningof the word ‘substantial’ in section 2(2) of the Contempt of Court act. in the Associated Newspapers case the court stated that there was no shortage of judicial paraphrases as to the ‘...degree of risk or the degree of impediment or prejudice which the attorney-general must prove.’ • ThecourtcitedwithapprovalLordDiplock’s statement in Attorney-General v. English [1983]1AC 116 at 141H-142C. the word substantial was described as being ‘...intended to exclude a risk that is only remote.’ auld lJ commented in Attorney-General v. BBC [1997] EMLR 76 that the threshold of risk is not high but must be proved to be simply more than remote or minimal.5 • Othersfactorstobeconsideredincludethe likelihood of jurors having seen the material and the length of time between seeing or hearing the material and the commencement of the trial. this latter point is referred to as the ‘fade factor’ or as Moses J said at the huntley and Carr trial that there would only be a ‘general recollection’ of the published material in jurors’ minds. • Itshouldalsobenotedthatjurorsaregivenan explicit instruction at the start of a trial not to surf the internet to look for information about the trial and the defendant. however the court in the associated newspapers case recognised that jurors do gather much of their news online and therefore cannot be legally banned from using the internet. in such circumstances they may come across prejudicial information inadvertently.

the reporting of mr Jefferies arrest and his subsequent vilification at the hands of the media was reminiscent of the reporting prior to the huntley and Carr case. it seems the media has not taken on board the criticisms voiced in 2003 that led to the court having to impose a postponement order upon the media under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court act and the trial date delayed for some six months. the imposition of a £50,000 fine on mirror group newspapers would appear to be a warning from the courts that the media needs to be more circumspect in its reporting particularly in potentially high profile criminal cases. n

5. see [2011] ewhC 418 at paragraph 22.

coNTEMPT oF coURT AND MEDIA PUBLIcATIoNS

>

duncan Bloy and sara hadwin have just published the new 2nd edition of law and the media (sweet & Maxwell, 2011)

Related free podcast at uklawstudent.thomsonreuters.com

Related eBook Law and the Media by Duncan Bloy and Sara Hadwin

39

LAW STUDENT BAcK To UNI chEcKLISTwhat every law student needs for success in their first term.

ThE BASIcS1. get a good introductory overview of the subject so that you can hit the ground running. glanville williams’ learning the law is a classic text, now in its 14th edition.

2. get a law dictionary. the osborn Concise law dictionary is available for your iphone on the app store, making it the ideal choice.

3. find out your reading lists for the term and read introductory chapters so you can go into lectures feeling confident.

4. make sure you hone your basic skills. writing in particular is an area that many students neglect. there are a number of titles that can help, for example successful legal writing by edwina higgins and laura tatham.

cURRENT AWARENESS

5. Bookmark key law sites for easy reference. Current awareness is crucial in law. the law student website has news round ups and special features, in addition to the many other useful sites out there.

6. sign up to twitter and add law-related feeds – this is a great way to stay up-to-date with minimal effort! again, the law student twitter feed is a good place to start – see who we’re following for more ideas.

7. subscribe to legal podcasts – another good way to stay up-to-date. For example, the law student podcast is monthly and covers developments in key areas in addition to exam question walk-throughs.

cAREER AND NETWoRKINg

8. write a Career action plan – it’s never too soon to start planning your career.

9. Join your uni’s law society if it has one – a great place to network and make new friends.

10. see if your uni or law society does a mooting competition – this is an excellent way to gain extra CV points.

11. talk to law students in other years. they’ll be able to offer you advice, and may have contacts in the legal profession.

RESEARch SKILLS

12. attend any training your law librarian is putting on. Research skills are crucial for law students and you will need support in navigating the different sources of information.

13. find out if your uni has a westlaw uK student rep, and who it is – they’ll be on-hand to help you with your legal research.

14. sign up for Certification training to online research services. westlaw uK and lawtel certification training is available via your law library or online via webex. Being certified is a good ‘quick win’ for your CV.

YoUR STUDENT REPthomson Reuters has a network of student reps at over 60 universities across the country. they’re there to support you with westlaw uK and lawtel, and can also answer any questions you have on our products and services. find out who your rep is below.

ASToN UNIvERSITY elizabeth harvey

BIRMINghAM cITY UNIvERSITY temi ojo

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cARDIFF UNIvERISTY hannah ungoed-thomas

coLLEgE oF LAW BIRMINghAM andrew moore

coLLEgE oF LAW BLooMSBURY shimon simon

coLLEgE oF LAW chESTER elizabeth rowan

coLLEgE oF LAW gUILDFoRD emily hayes

coLLEgE oF LAW MANchESTER djamila dalibey

coLLEgE oF LAW MooRgATE Bhavisha doshi

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DE MoNTFoRT UNIvERSITY sabrina farhan

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ESSEx UNIvERSITY Christopher harvey

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gLAMoRgAN UNIvERSITY Jemma russant

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KINg’S coLLEgE LoNDoN anastasia gorshkova

LEEDS METRoPoLITAN UNIvERSITY Kay dickinson

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LIvERPooL UNIvERSITY emma sharkey

LoNDoN cITY UNIvERSITY aurore hochard

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WARWIcK UNIvERSITY meenu Bangor

WESTMINSTER UNIvERSITY lydia majdalany

WoLvERhAMPToN UNIvERSITY francesca tittenson

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ReuteRs / arnd wiegmann