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Direct access Barrister | Criminal, Motoring & Regulatory Law
Forced Marriage
One of the saddest things to see is a school-kid feel powerless to change what is happening to her. People who live here in Hackney or in our neighbouring borough, Tower Hamlets, don't know the half of what's going on. I'd rather believe that than to think my...
Getting (Non Legal) Help: First Things First
Work as a legal aid or pro bono lawyer for a while - and you begin to realise there really isn't much separating you from your clients. To quote the Unwashed Advocate, the only difference between me and my clients is circumstance. It doesn't take much for a person's...
Letter Writing Rules
During my early legal days, I became embroiled in increasingly snarky correspondence with a respected firm of solicitors. They knew I wasn't a qualified lawyer at that stage and, I felt, they had taken several opportunities in correspondence to let me know they were...
Moving Into A New Flat: Do An Inventory
Have you ever heard of a landlord that did not want to do an inventory? Estate agents who tell you "don't worry about it"? Consider they may have their own agenda - and this may or may not include them being really relaxed and "liking" you. Your deposit is at stake....
Show Me Your Papers
The biggest favour you can do yourself is to get all the letters from your desk drawer and to get them organised and in a folder or ring binder. The next best thing you can do is to put all the letters in reverse chronological order. That means the oldest letter is at...
Your Case Turns On Evidence
Everyone wants to phone it in these days. Unless you want to get into a he said/she said drama that will make a judge start weeping with boredom, consider adopting the mantra, If it's not written down, it never happened. Yes, I know there are verbal contracts - and...
A Contract Makes All The Difference
2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. from San Francisco Creative Mornings on Vimeo. I love this video. It's a great illustration of how a legal steer can save money - and why contracts are essential - especially if you're working freelance. Despite the initial...
Decision Time: Get Advice
Now that the envelopes are open, you can decide how you're going to proceed. If, for example, someone says you owe them money, you'll need to decide whether they're right or whether you have a dispute. But even simple debt matters can be tricky. For example, the bill...
QASA and Quality Advocacy (QAA Part Deux)
It's been a year since that SAHCA conference. Believe me. If you were there, you won't have forgotten it. On the one hand, we had Government repeating its quality mantra, saying that the public must be protected from rogue (solicitor) advocates - and on the other,...
Open That Envelope
You may have been looking for meaty legal analysis - and you're getting someone to tell you to "open the envelope". The thing is, I've seen this a lot. People know they're in rent arrears, are in trouble with their bank, or a company is breathing down their neck for...
