My second week at my first chambers

MY FIRST VISIT TO THE ROYAL COURTS OF JUSTICE
My second week at the 3 Hare Court Chambers commenced with a visit to the main court in England and an observation of an oral argument to the High Court (complete with wigs and everything!).

Although I have walked passed the Royal Courts of Justice on Fleet Street every day, I have not been in the grandiose building until this past week. (NOTE: I promise I will post pictures soon!). If you google it, you might be able to see some pictures. I cannot emphasize how big and grand it is, and it looks like a huge medieval palace, although it was built in the 1800s. Even inside, the main area is large and cavernous, with tall ceilings and intricate beam work. The court room is cozier and more intimate than American court rooms, but like the rest of the building, the room itself is aesthetically beautiful, with dark wood, antique-looking books and bookshelves that surround the room, and a the judge's desk literally on a pedestal. The lawyers sit in the first row facing the judge, in front of the "bar", and the courtroom has an additional four or five rows of seating directly behind the bar. The room lacks an aisle in the middle of the room (present in most American courtrooms).

The argument itself, like American cases, was open to the public. The barristers were there on a defamation/libel case regarding a tabloid and misinformation it published. The issue presented was how much should the tabloid pay the Claimant, as the tabloid admitted that they published falsities.

Unlike American trials and particularly oral arguments, the court did not focus on much case law. Most of the oral arguments were based on facts and common decency. When each barrister spoke, they stood up and went through the reasons why or why not the tabloid should/shouldn't pay a certain amount. The barristers were very cordial to each other and the judge. All them joked around as well. The arguments took an entire day (this probably would not be the case in the US--it would be much shorter). The day went by quickly because the topic itself was extremely interesting, and I felt so lucky to be able to watch, in person, a tabloid defamation case when we hear about these types of things on the news. During breaks, the barrister I shadowed (who argued to the judge) was able to give me a play-by-play.

COURTROOM PROTOCOL
I noticed that unlike US courtrooms, the judge did not use a gavel. A bailiff-type person told us to stand up for the judge. Everytime that happens, the judge walks from his chambers to his desk, looks at everyone in the courtroom, and everyone (including the barristers, judge, and bystanders) bow their heads. Then everyone sits down after the judge sits down.

All of the barristers in the courtroom had to wear wigs! I cannot express how much this really made it feel like I was a bystander in a historical movie that takes place in England because the tradition of the wigs goes back hundreds of years. A female barrister argued for the other side, and she also wore a wig. In addition to the wigs, the barristers wear long black robes. Keeping this tradition alive makes me think this shows how seriously they take their profession and advocacy on behalf of their client. I analogize it to doctors wearing white coats when they see patients, even if it is not necssary. When they wear their clothes--they are practicing their art and taking it seriously. So do barristers. The act of advocating on behalf of one's client and giving them a voice in the legal system to seek justice is an art.

Something else I noticed was that the barristers used the term "Lord" when they were speaking to the judge. For example, they used the terms "yes, my lord" no "my lord" or "does your lordship want a recess" and so on. I took note of this because first of all, that sounds so official and obviously is something we would never say in a United States, let alone a United States courtroom. Second, I am obsessed with the PBS/Masterpiece Theater show, Downtown Abbey (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!). One of the main characters is a Lord and head of the household. When people speak to him, they use those terms as well. Again, this demeanor in the courtroom reiterates the tradition behind the British legal system and how the British hold the law and judges in such high regard.

CLIENT CONSULTATIONS
I was able to attend several in-person and telephone client consultations. Actually, the consultations occur with the solicitors (who already represent the clients and who already analyzed the facts and law for the clients' issue), the clients themselves, and the barristers who listen to the client and solicitors to see if it is litigable case.

As I mentioned previously, the solicitors are not affiliated with the barristers in anyway. They come from their own law firms. When they determine they need to pursue or look into litigation, they ask a barrister to do so, so essentially the solicitors are the ones that hire the barristers. Barristers do not necessarily work with one particular solicitor, and at any time, they might be working with a number of them around London for different cases.

Because the barrister does not directly receive funds from the client (the solicitor pays him/her from the money they receive from the client), no stringent rules apply to barristers regarding separating accounts for the clients' money. I spoke to several barristers about this, and several of them mentioned that the money goes directly into their personal checking accounts since they are all independent anyway.

MORE TO COME
Now that I highlighted some of my activities from last week, I will post pictures and more about the historic Inns of Court in London, a day in the life of a Barrister, and some other factoids, as well as other things to do around London within the next few days.

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Location:London, England