I had a dream

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Last night I had a dream. Not a portentous one that will benefit the world like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but a recurring one as ridiculous as it was upsetting. I dreamed that I was about to sit my Bar finals because I hadn’t yet passed them.

There was some uncertainty in my dream as to when or where the exams were to take place, but no uncertainty that I had done little of the necessary work required to pass them. And as the dream meandered its way through my night’s sleep, it was clear that I had spent my whole professional life practising while unqualified.

Why was it ridiculous? Because at the time I dreamed this, I had already retired from the Bar where I practised for 41 years (21 as a Junior and 20 in silk) and from the Bench where I sat for four years. In fact, I passed the exams in 1976. Admittedly not well, but I had passed.

There is no shortage of good reasons to enter the profession, for those of you who are planning a career in the law. Assuming you also pass your exams, you can turn your ambitious dreams into a reality.

If you’re looking for crucial advice about the barrister route, visit LCN’s Barristers hub.

Criminal Bar

The part of the profession I entered was the criminal Bar and I do not think I overstate it by saying that I had the most wonderful career one can imagine. My book Nothing Like the Truth is a candid account of my life spent in the courts, one which I describe as the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Check out this barrister practice area profile of crime/fraud to discover more about criminal law chambers.

I wear as a badge of honour that, despite taking my degree at a technical college, I was able to find a place in chambers, become a Queen’s Counsel (QC) and go on to become a judge. I had been a poor student, but I found a job I loved.

As I suspect most criminal advocates do, I entered the profession to help others. Our clients are down on their uppers and, when we meet them, often we represent the last obstacle that stands between them and their loss of liberty. They want and deserve our compassion and most of us are prepared to give it.

To learn about what a barrister does, read ‘What does life as a barrister involve?’

Along with education and the NHS, a justice system is the third limb of any democratic state and so the importance of what criminal lawyers do cannot be overstated. Justice underpins everything.

To find out more about the justice system, read this LCN Blog: ‘Judicial diversity.’

A criminal QC was once admonished by the judge he appeared before for the time the case was taking: “Mr X”, pontificated the judge, “this murder trial has already taken six weeks, when I was at the Bar it would have taken two weeks”. Quickly Mr X shot back: “In Iran this case would take two hours, but it doesn’t make it justice, does it?” And that is what it’s all about. Justice.

I reflect in the book that:

“Every judge in every court in the country should have a sign hanging in the loo that reads ‘Our aim is to deliver justice, your aim helps’.”

Nothing like the truth

I didn’t want Nothing Like the Truth to be just another boring memoir, so it aims to entertain and look at some of the tougher issues straight in the eye. For example, despite the presumption of innocence, the fact that needs to be recognised is that judges and lawyers are wont to start from the position that the defendant is guilty.

Does this mean defendants can’t have fair trials? Of course not.

Judges and lawyers don’t determine guilt. Juries do. Hence the abundance of needless hot air spoken about the statue of Edward Colston in a criminal damage trial. The jury were within their rights to return a verdict of “not guilty.” That is what they did. End of.

As I say in the book, if the judge disagrees with the verdict, tough. It is for them to look at the jury, smile and thank them and keep their own views out of sight.

Criminal legal aid lawyers 

Remuneration can be an issue for many. When I was chair of the Criminal Bar Association, legal aid fees had reached an impasse. The headline figures for advocates’ fees in 2014 showed they could be paid the derisory figure of £46 a day – and yet here was the then Minister of Justice “failing Grayling” determined to scythe another £220 million from the budget.

We made it clear that if he went ahead, we would strike and bring the courts to a halt for the first time in our 400-year history. And that is what we did, and the government backed off. I would like to say that the government learned from this and then set out to invest properly in the criminal justice system, but sadly not.

The vast backlog of cases, exacerbated by advocates being driven out of the system through poor earnings, has led to the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) being on the brink of calling another strike.

The criminal legal aid review report has recently recommended much greater investment in the system and a minimum level of annual increases in advocates fees. So, the worst problems are hopefully now being addressed and remuneration will be a part of that. Watch this space.

Reflection

Can you really recommend a life working in the criminal justice system? I hear you ask.

Without a doubt. I have been happy and laughed every day for more than 40 years. Doing a job I loved, one I found intellectually stimulating and frequently fascinating. Standing in the courts every day, enjoying the ‘parry and thrust’ of advocacy.

Working with great colleagues, enjoying a shared comradery, with every case bringing different challenges. I wish I were in your shoes, dreaming your dreams. I would do it all again if I had half the chance.

Nigel Lithman QC (he/him) is a barrister, criminal QC, judge and former chair of the Criminal Bar Association that led the only strike against the government.

Whitefox published Nothing Like the Truth by Nigel Lithman QC and is available on Amazon now.