Cumberland Lodge, an encounter with Queen Elizabeth, and finishing up at my first chambers

I am so sorry about the lapse in my blog posts. Please excuse me and believe me when I tell you that I have been so busy with my chambers work, court visits, travel, and getting the most out of this magical experience. Since I last wrote, I finished my time at 3 Hare Court chambers, and I started at Charter Chambers last week. Currently, I am observing a murder trial; two of the barristers at my new chambers are defending one of the four defendants in this case. The criminal system here contains many similarities to the US criminal law system (burden for the prosecution, jury trial, etc.). However, as much as they are similar, the systems differ regarding jury selection (there is virtually no jury selection in the UK, unlike the US courts), the UK's more relaxed attitude on hearsay, and trial procedure. I plan to analyze these similarities and differences at the conclusion of my time at this chamber. For this post, I would like to highlight some other events.

CUMBERLAND LODGE
Every few months, the Inner Temple Inn hosts a three-day retreat at Cumberland Lodge, dubbed "advocacy training." It is essentially a CLE or education retreat for aspiring barristers. The Inner Temple invited me and my co-scholar to join this retreat. Cumberland Lodge is part of the Queen's large Windsor property (also the location for the majestic and inimitable Windsor Castle). For several centuries, the reigning king or queen asked his or her best friend to live in the lodge, so they could be in close proximity to the castle. In the 20th century, King George VI determined that this should lodge should house educational pursuits, and now a non-profit leases the building from the royals for this purpose. Please see the picture of the mansion below.


Besides general advocacy training and various exercises on how to represent clients, the weekend also included legal ethics lectures and food, drinking and entertainment (the latter three comprised a large part of the weekend). The title for the weekend was "Integrity in Sport-Uneasy Bedfellows?" Many of the lectures and exercises focused on the subject of illegal sports betting and use of drugs in sports. I was pleasantly surprised that the Inn was able to secure some internationally recognized experts in the field, including Max Mosley, a former barrister and former president of the governing body for Formula One racing. He is also well-known for bringing a successful lawsuiit against the now defunct News of the World tabloid paper, due to articles they published about him.

After a few glasses of wine during Friday's social hour, I reluctantly agreed to partake in the entertainment and skits that Master Salter always coordinates for Saturday nights at advocacy training weekends. He was very serious about it and actually scheduled several times throughout the weekend where we had proper rehearsals for our skits. The skits on Saturday night ranged from songs, music, spoken prose, and funny skits about becoming a barrister or skits completely unrelated to the profession. Luckily, I had a small role in a skit about a dating show.






See above for Master Salter on the piano and my role in the skits.

Between attending lectures and advocacy exercises, I also had the chance to take advantage of the great weather and picturesque property and walking trails of the Windsor gardens.






THE QUEEN

When we arrived at Cumberland Lodge on Friday, the director of the lodge informed us that we could go to the Royal Chapel on Sunday for a Church of England service, if we notified him by Saturday morning and gave our name and nationality for a background check. I jumped at the opportunity to do so because this chapel is where the Queen goes for her Sunday church services when she is at Windsor Castle, which is roughly half the time she is in England

On Sunday, a group of the Cumberland Lodgers made the 15 minute walk to another part of the Windsor grounds to attend the Royal Chapel service. While the chapel itself was nicely decorated, contained gorgeous stained glass windows and the traditional gothic architecture of many churches in the UK, I was surprised that it was small and quaint for the head of the Church of England/Queen of the UK to attend regularly, as there were only about 15 rows of pews in one relatively small room. I appreciated its charm and tight-knit qualities and setting within the Windsor gardens.

The Queen, if she attends church, sits in a pew in the front of the room, surrounded by drapes, so no one could tell whether she was at church during the service. However, I had a suspicion she was there. After the service, everyone shuffled out of the entrance to the church, and the minister greeted all of the passers-by. Because I spent some time walking around the church and admiring the setting, I was one of the last people out. As I walked out the door, Queen Elizabeth literally stood five feet away from the entrance and to the right, standing on the lawn and observing the people leaving the church. Honestly, she looked amazing as she wore a bright cobalt blue suit, matching coat and matching hat. I was star-struck. As she looked at everyone, and since I was the closest person to her at the time, she looked right at me. When she did that, I didn't know what to do except smile and nod (perhaps I should have curtsied too). She smiled and nodded back. Moments later, Prince Phillip finished a conversation, walked over to her, and walked her to their car. Prince Phillip got in the driver's seat and drove away with Queen Elizabeth at his side, presumably back to the castle.

I was surprised with the minimal security for the service, even though both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were very accessible. Yes, the police conducted a background check, but upon entering the chapel area, we only had to provide an ID and a pass supplied by Cumberland Lodge. We received no pat down nor did we walk through a metal detector. I was refreshed and surprised by the lack of intrusive security measures for the church service.

A QUICK TRIP TO EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

Right after the Cumberland Lodge weekend, John and I caught a train to spend one night and one day in Edinburgh to meet with the advocates there. I'll write more about this later, but I'll leave you with some fun pictures of Ediburgh.




Standing in Old Edinburgh, close to the Faculty of Advocates (where Scotland's barristers are located).



The world-famous Greyfriars Bobby Statue (I strongly suggest looking it up if you don't know the heartwarming story, whether it is fact or fiction).


In front of Edinburgh Castle, upon the conclusion of our quick trip.

Please stay tuned for more about my Scotland Trip, a visit to the UK Supreme Court, and more! As always, please let me know if you have any questions about the UK legal system!

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Location:London, UK and beyond

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

Lunch at the Inner Temple and More

NOTE: Several of you have asked me to post some pictures, and I am trying to figure out how to download pictures onto my iPad. Worst case scenario, I will borrow a laptop to download them. Regardless, I should have some photos up by this week!

MY FIRST WEEK IN CHAMBERS AND MORE OBSERVATIONS
I finished a very interesting week in my chambers and am preparing for next week.

I spent the remainder of my week mostly engaging in legal research for a writing assignment I have for one of Peter's cases in Trinidad and Tobago. Many of the cases I read are from the "Privy Council", which is a group of Lords from the House of Lords that constitute the last venue for an appeal regarding a public or administrative decision. Each Lord that reviews the case writes his or her decision. As I mentioned previously, they only cite a limited amount of case law and they also refer to various European treaties and statements on human rights. I also read several recent decisions which cited the Magna Carta! Yes, the centuries-old document still influences these high decision makers, which makes sense since it is such a moving document which has been studied and recited throughout time.

Peter said that because the Privy Council does not have a decision on behalf of the council (as each Lord issues their own opinion on the matter), there is no "consensus" decision that controls; however, Peter mentioned that the barristers know which decision is most controlling by its detail and persuasion. I am still trying to wrap my mind around this concept as some of the Lords' opinions on the same topic were completely incongruous and opposing. On the other hand, Peter also had some good arguments on whey courts, like the U.S. Supreme Court, should not have an official "opinion" on behalf of the entire bench, mostly because each judge probably has different perspectives on the issue, even if they all or mostly concurred with the overarching action taken by the Court.

As I mentioned earlier, I am mostly shadowing Peter, but he will be in Trinidad this upcoming week, so I will work with some other barristers. Tomorrow, I will finally observe an argument in the High Court, which is in the grand building that houses several of the courts called the "Royal Courts of Justice." This building is also situated in the "Temple" area of London, where the Inns of Courts and barristers are located. I will post more about the arguments after I observe them, but it is a defamation case (the barrister represents the claimant) against one of the many tabloid-style papers in England.

LUNCH AT THE INNER TEMPLE
Last Friday, Peter, some other barristers from my chambers, and I went to the Inner Temple to have lunch. From what I understand, all of the Inns of Court host lunches and even dinners for Inns of Court members and their guests EVERY DAY. All people entering the building must be dressed appropriately (suits, no jeans, etc.). The Inner Temple is an old, historic building within the confines of the Temple part of London (and next to the other Inns of Court and the historic Temple Church, made famous by the Da Vinci Code). At the early lunch hour of 12:30PM (yes, that is early by London standards), the line to get into the dining area was long. After we entered, I observed that the large dining room (complete with pictures of various Lords and barristers on the walls) contained several kiosks and areas to either serve yourself for cold food or allow someone to put food on your plate for the hot food section. I opted for the traditional Friday fish and chips. I noticed that none of the food even closely resembled cafeteria food--all of the food was delicious and quite posh. Later, I also found out that one of the BBC's cooking competition shows, Master Chef, previously tasked contestants with cooking a dinner for the neighboring Middle Temple Inn, which shows that this is no easy feat, yet they serve this delicious food every day!

After we got our plates, we sat down at one of the long, dining hall-style tables with other barristers to eat and talk. Peter introduced me to some barristers along the way. The barristers pay for their meals after they eat by filling out a form and checking off what they had---it is purely an honor system although the food can get pricey.

The barrister community in England is certainly unique; I really feel that I'm in another time and place when I step off the Tube at the Temple station every morning. I'm amazed with the so many facets of the barrister lifestyle, including the requirement that aspiring barristers join Inns for life, rent space from Inns, and have the opportunity to dine in their beautiful buildings every day with other barristers. These advocates really immerse themselves in their profession (which is a good thing), and it adds a great deal of respect, tradition, and provides a wonderful mentoring framework for life.

WIGS
Many of you have asked me about whether I will see a wig or whether the barristers still wear them. Indeed, they do still wear the wigs in several of the courts, and barristers must wear them when they are "called to the bar" in a ceremony. The wigs cost up to 700 pounds (well over $1000), and the sign of a good wig is one that is more yellow than white (it shows that you are not a newbie). Since I have not observed court proceedings yet, I have not seen one worn, but I did see a barrister on his way to court carrying a wig last week, which was an exciting moment. They look even better in person!

Again, please let me know if you have any questions or if there's anything you want me to explore for you!




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Location:London, England

First few days and preliminary thoughts

I am almost officially finished with jet-lag and ready to make the most of this amazing experience!

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

First day!

I had my first official day in my chambers! Very interesting! I'm excited to tell you about it but also exhausted. More to come with details and pictures tomorrow... Thanks for tuning in!

General Info and Getting Ready

Welcome to my blog about my 2012 Pegasus Scholarship!

Last year, I applied for, and was selected as a Pegasus Scholar for 2012 by the American Inns of Court. I encourage you to find out more information about the American Inns of Court by browsing the material on their website. Generally, the American Inns of Court oversees and supports local Inns throughout the country. These Inns contain judges, lawyers, law professors and law students who meet approximately once per month to discuss professionalism, ethics, and to mentor. Each Inn is subdivided into "pupilage groups" which are smaller groups that typically have one judge, several senior attorneys, several junior attorneys, and several attorneys. These groups also gather outside of the more formal once-per-month Inn meetings, and each group is responsible for one of the monthly programs presented to the Inn.

The American Inns of Courts are loosely based on the mentoring structure within the UK legal system for Barristers. As I understand (and I will certainly learn more about this when I go to London), aspiring Barristers must shadow or apprentice with Barristers, have dinners with them, and work with them until the Barristers are satisfied about their knowledge about the profession. When they are satisfied, that apprentice is "called to the Bar" and admitted to practice as a Barristers. (Note: Barristers wear wigs and practice in front of judges; Solicitors are attorneys that do not practice before judges but work with Barristers when their client must go to court).

The American Inns of Court sponsors the Pegasus Scholarship which allows two young lawyers who have a few years of experience to go to the UK for approximately six weeks (and in exchange, two young Barristers from the UK travel to the US). During the six weeks, the US attorneys work with different Barristers and learn about their legal system and all of its nuances. This experience includes watching oral arguments, engaging in legal research, eating dinner with the Inner Temple Inn in London, and visiting Barristers in Edinburgh, Dublin, and Belfast, amongst many other priceless opportunities.

Since my second year of law school in 2003, I have been a member of the William E. Doyle Inn of Court. Joining my Inn has been one of the best and most satisfying decisions I ever made. Over the years, I established numerous mentoring, professional, and personal relationships with judges, lawyers, and law students. I can talk to people within my Inn openly about any questions I might have about a sensitive issue or discuss any trials or tribulations. I can always turn to someone for more mentorship or guidance and feel that others know they can turn to me about any questions they have about the legal profession, jobs, and handling situations tactfully.

One of the attorneys I initially met, who has served as my mentor and confidant, received the Pegasus Scholarship in the 1990s. He constantly spoke highly of the experience and indicated that it might have been one of the best, most educational experiences of his life. Having studied abroad in college, I understood that this was indeed a priceless, educational experience.

I always kept the Pegasus Scholarship at the forefront of my mind, but the time never seemed right between job obligations, professional obligations, and weddings. Luckily, in 2012 everything came together to allow me to immerse myself in this scholarship (and luckily, I was selected as one of two people to receive it!). My fellow scholar is John DeStefano, whom I have not yet met except via phone and email.

For our bios and announcements, please click here: http://www.innsofcourt.org/Content/Default.aspx?Id=6682.

For more information about the scholarship and a link to a PDF brochure, please click here: http://www.innsofcourt.org/Content/Default.aspx?Id=93.

One of the reasons why I started this blog, besides memorializing this unique opportunity for myself, is to allow others to experience this journey with me. As such, please email me with any questions or topics you would like me to explore about the UK (and Irish) legal system, the Inns of Court, mentoring, the UK government system, or any other questions you have. I will post them on the blog or write back to you directly. You can email me at beckybye(at)gmail.com or address them in your comments below.

I leave for London on February 17, 2012 and arrive back in the United States on April 1, 2012. I'm crossing my fingers for decent weather!