I arrived in London on Saturday morning. My co-scholar and I took the same connecting flight from Chicago, so we arrived together. The Inner Temple Inn of Court coordinator helped arrange transportation for us directly to our very spacious, three-bedroom flat in the Hammersmith part of London. The coordinator, Eamonn O'Reilly also met us there when we arrived and took us out to an English breakfast. At breakfast, we discussed various topics from the general structure of the Inns of Court, to American and British politics and London's thriving nightlife.
Fighting the urge to sleep, John and I tried to "set up" for our stay that Saturday by buying a monthly pass on the Tube, doing some basic grocery shopping, and unpacking. My suitcase mostly comprised of suits, as I heard from previous scholars that dress is very formal in chambers.
On Sunday, John and I ventured to do a "run through" of our daily commute and took the Tube to the general vicinity for our chambers, which is the Temple part of London. It is near the Thames (nearly everything in central London is), and not too far from Westminster Abbey, the House of Lords/Parliament/Commons, the London Eye, and other popular sites. I also went for a run in gorgeous, early spring-like weather along the Thames.
TEMPLE AREA OF LONDON AND THE INNS OF COURT
I am still learning the details of the British Inns of Court, but at this point, my understanding is that most of the Inns of Court are located in the Temple area, which is essentially the legal district of London. The Inns of Court, in England, are beautiful institutions with gates, gardens, and history where barristers can congregate for meals, events, and where aspiring barristers (known as pupils) must begin their journey before being "called to the bar." Eamonn mentioned that they might look like buildings used as settings for the Harry Potter movies, and I agree. When I am in the Temple area, I really feel I am in a different time.
In England, while it is mandatory for future barristers and barristers to be aligned with an Inn, this is not the same for solicitors, although many solicitors do practice in the Temple area of London.
The first "chambers" to which I am assigned is 3 Hare Court. It "rents" its offices from the Inner Temple, and the Inner Temple also helps coordinate the Pegasus Scholarship program from the UK end. However, many of the barristers in this chamber are members of other Inns.
A couple of dozen barristers are members of this chamber; and the chmaber also has an administrator and a handful of law clerks. The law clerks are not lawyers nor is it necessary that they have any formal schooling. They schedule the appointments with barristers, work on billing and collecting fees, and help run the business side of the chambers. While the law clerks are not lawyers, they can have some influence regarding the dynamics of the chambers, since many potential clients call them first and they often choose which barrister obtains that client. Many of the "referrals" are from solicitors whose clients must obtain a barrister for actual court work.
Even though barristers work in "chambers", which seem like law firms, all barristers must be independent contractors. According to Peter Knox, the barrister with whom I am working, this is so that a Barrister can represent anyone at all; if they were in firms, they could be conflicted out if another Barrister in that firm represented the opposing party. And yes, oddly enough, because of this rule, a barrister can work with another barrister on one case within his/her chambers and oppose him/her in another case, and it is relatively common given that the barrister community is small.
MY WORK
Yesterday was my first day working for Peter. Peter has been "called to the bar" for nearly 30 years, and from my observations and from what other people have told me, he is a very distinguished barrister. He has the initials "QC" after his name, which stands for "Queen's Counsel." This means, he was selected by a selecting committee (which historically was Lord Chancery) as one of the more distinguished Barristers in the legal community. Peter is extremely modest about it, but this is prestigious considering it is so hard to become a Barrister in the first place. This title allows him to wear a silk robe in court, rather than a traditional robe and also allows him to charge higher fees.
Although Peter practices in a wide variety of areas--from commercial and criminal law to insurance and property law--he seems to have a niche in trials and appeals for Trinidad and Tobago cases. My first research project deals with one of his several cases stemming from Trinidad and Tobago involving the financial crisis. I am unable go into more details than that, but so far I have reviewed all the pleadings filed with the court on both sides and have spoken with my Peter extensively about the issues and the way to courts operate there and the appeals process from there to courts in England.
I noticed that the written pleadings to (and even from) the courts contain only a scintilla of case law. I asked Peter about it and he mentioned that courts actually discourage the use of case law and especially string citations for various reasons; namely, it can be distracting and they feel that it clouds the actual argument and facts.
One of the co-barristers on the case is the former AG of Trinidad and Tobago named Ramesh, who now practices law in his own practice. Peter, myself, a junior barrister named Rob and Ramesh had lunch at a posh pub today, complete with wine and a delicious dessert. I was fascinated by Ramesh's stories and background.
He openly told me about a story about when he was a young lawyer and openly spoke up to a judge about the judge's "injudicious" ways by not allowing his own clients to present their case before a ruling. Long story short, the judge ordered him to go to jail immediately, and he spent a total of 7 nights in jail before and after his trial on the matter. He filed two cases: one seeking to overturn the conviction on due process and other grounds, and the other that later sought damages. Both cases were reported in the UK Law Reporter, which I read after the intriguing lunch. Peter mentioned that the latter case was very important in future UK cases because it dealt with whether the government was responsible for the barrister's damages when the judge wrongly sentenced him to jail (an iteration of respondeat superior). Clearly, since he became AG of the territory years later and is still highly regarded in Trinidad and Tobago and the UK, this did not hold him back.
I learned more about the British legal system (along with their territories and the relationship of the legal systems between them) in my two days working for a chambers than I even imagined. Soon, I will be able to observe various court proceedings as well!
Believe it or not, I have even more information to report in future postings--ranging from how difficult it is to get a job as barrister to the relationship between barristers and solicitors to why barristers must wear wigs and robes, but I do not want to overwhelm you!
Again, please let me know if you have any questions about the British legal system or government you would like me to explore for you or discuss on my blog!
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Location:London, England
Sounds like a busy day! Glad it went well and I look forward to reading more about your experience.
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