Dicta 2014

DICTA 2014

INTERVIEW

LORD NEUBERGER

PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT NEW LEGAL WORLD

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF JUSTICE? FEATURES

DO JUDGES HAVE TOO MUCH POWER? CULTURE

REVIEW: WAR DON DON

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We carefully select and nurture individuals with character, commitment and curiosity.

We then give them the opportunities and the support they need to become exceptional lawyers, capable of advising the world’s leading businesses and business leaders. www.macfarlanes.com

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SPENCER TURNER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Y

ou only need to pick up a copy of any magazine, turn on the television or read the news to understand that the world we live in is in a constant state of flux. More specifically, the legal landscape has undergone a radical transformation and will continue to do so as we students begin to embark on our careers. Mergers, greater diversification, emerging markets and legal aid cuts are all issues contemporaneous to our generation. With this in mind, at Dicta we have attempted to collate what we consider to be some of the most important aspects of the new legal world and present them to you.

Various contributors from within the law school, and a few from beyond, have come together to create a magazine dedicated to exploring the new legal world that we are very much a part of. This year, we had the pleasure to interview some of the most distinguished academics within the law school, as well as others, Sir Stephen Laws QC and Lord Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court, included.

It is paramount to praise the work of everyone who contributed to the magazine; your efforts are appreciated and reflected in the quality of the articles within the magazine. Without my tireless editorial team, this would never have come together, so thanks to them also. I have been humbled by their commitment and dedication, not only to creating the magazine, but also to working as a team and producing a tremendous work ethic. I can truly say that I have made new friends whilst working on the magazine this year. I must also thank the UBLC, whose dedication and willingness to put on activities for students make the law school a richer place, and to our two sponsors for this edition of Dicta, without them this magazine would not have come to fruition.

read the magazine, you share in that experience.

It is only by spending time in the law department here at Bristol that you realise how lucky you are to have access to one of the best legal educations this country has to offer, as well as the plethora of extra-curricular opportunities available to you. To those of you who have enjoyed this magazine, I urge you to contribute or apply for an editorial position for the 2015 issue. You won’t regret it.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.�

Perhaps these famous words be JFK sum it up best. The legal profession is in a constant state of flux, and our generation is witness to some of the biggest changes ever seen. It is by discussing and understanding these changes that we will be able to thrive in the new legal world. I hope that when you Dicta | 2014 Page 3

EDITORIALS THE TEAM Emily Bueno - Managing Editor

There are often declarations of new beginnings.

I usually dismiss these, believing that they are naïve grasping of a hope for change. However, having worked on this edition of Dicta, I have been proved wrong – about the legal landscape, at least. A new legal world is certainly emerging. As the UK crawls out of the recession and globalization continues to collapse borders it was inevitable that the legal landscape would be remoulded. Thus, the rise of Alternative Dispute Resolution, pro bono work and law firm mergers are all explored. But, with change, there is also continuity. The ‘pale male’ stereotype prevails, but dissatisfaction with this suggests that the new legal world will be a diverse one. In fact, it is not just the people that inhabit this world, but the opportunities within it that are set to be varied. As the interview with Rebecca Richman Cohen proves, a legal education does not have to equate to a career as a lawyer. Indeed, the law seeps into all areas of life; it is not confined to textbooks and courtrooms. Literature and film are mediums through which the legal landscape has been explored and challenged, and should be a part of a law student’s wider education. So, we have included a ‘Law in Culture’ section. The diversity of this edition is reflected in the team that has worked on it. I have been inspired and humbled by their dedication and hard work. My colleagues have taught me that this new legal world will be a lucky one.

Jenny Cook - Study Abroad Editor

I’m very proud to have worked on this edition of Dicta 2014, and I hope readers enjoy our content. Editing the Study Abroad articles for this magazine was incredibly enjoyable, and I anticipate you will delight in reading encounters of our endeavours abroad, where we entice you to venture beyond Bristol for a year of sun, sightseeing and study (in that order).

The University of Bristol has one of the leading law schools in the UK, and the talent of our students is reflected within the pages of this magazine. By demonstrating their ability to write critically, and seizing valuable opportunities offered, I applaud and thank all contributors for the effort they have invested into Dicta. I urge readers to get involved next year, whether by contributing or editing - let your voice be heard.

Finally, special thanks must also go to our sponsors and the UBLC, without whom this publication would not be possible.

Clement Fung - Senior Editor

The value of Dicta 2014 stems as much from the content as the editors who brought it all together. From humble beginnings as a blank sheet to dynamic brainstorming sessions to finally holding the magazine in hand, it has been a real pleasure being a part of this editorial team. Religion and religious law are highlighted in this edition. A special thanks to all the writers and, in particular, to Professor Jonathan Burnside for sharing with us the important role and value of religion and religious laws in modern society. Not only does he make an excellent cup of espresso, his passion for critically engaging the worldviews of his students is contagious and displayed in his answers.

As a student of the Law, curiosity spurs me to explore what makes modern society tick. From editing articles on the evolution of legal architecture to the commercial opportunities offered in emerging markets, I have caught but a glimpse of how exciting our modern legal world truly is. My hope is that you will too.

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Jonathan Margetts - Senior Editor

Being involved in a magazine like Dicta 2014 provides you with opportunities not commonly experienced in an average law degree. For me, the highlight of these was the time spent interviewing Lord Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court, and writing the resulting article. Being able to meet a judge who features in many of the cases I’ve personally spent time studying is phenomenal, as was visiting the Supreme Court in London. However, meeting Lord Neuberger should not be overshadowed by the time spent editing some fantastically diverse articles examining the boundaries and substance of the new legal world.

The legal issues surrounding priceless artwork dating back from the Third Reich, the extent that government cuts might have to the criminal bar, and the power that judges are able to wield are features I particularly enjoyed, and I hope that readers might equally enjoy them too.

Shaun White - Senior Editor

Professors these days. Sashaying around with all of their knowledge and doing whatever passion project they so choose. Keith Stanton and Magda Raczynska are no different. Both are astute legal academics and possess ‘the gift’ that enables them to simplify even the most convoluted topics. Me, not so much. After interviewing Magda, I attempted to provide a brief summation on secured transactions law to my fellow colleagues – I was as graceful as a refrigerator falling down a flight of stairs. Maybe it’s their effortlessness that has drawn my attention, or perhaps it is the symbolism. Keith is a representation of the glorious past, while Magda signifies the hopeful future for our University. The two professors looked at legal education and law in other jurisdictions, which are especially important to me. Coming from North America, it is insightful to compare and contrast legal trends on a global stage. Enjoy the interviews, enjoy the issue.

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DICTA 2014 CONTENTS

A NEW LEGAL WORLD SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE CIARA CORRIGAN TOMORROW’S EUROPE ROBERTO MARTINEZ PRESS PLAY: CAMERAS IN COURT - EMMA GRUNNILL THE INTERNET AND THE LAW CALVIN YANG LAWYERS FOR FREE PATRICK OíKANE WHAT IS THE PRICE OF JUSTICE? ALEXANDRA SAVILO BELIEVING IN JUSTICE? CLEMENT FUNG LEGAL TERRORISM (OR NOT) ANNONYMOUS WHAT IS SHARIA LAW? GRACE BOORER THE CHURCH THAT LIVED ERIC EDWARD-SELVARAJ GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN STEPHANIE LLOYD PALE AND MALE TIAN-HUI TAN FEMALE FLIGHT JULIANNE CIRENZA REFLECTIONS FROM THE TOP JON MARGETTS

7-27

CAREERS EXPANDING GLOBAL REACH CALVIN YANG WHEN TWO BECOME ONE EVELYN IOANNOU EMERGING MARKETS CHENGRUI CHAU & SAMUEL TAY MA 2ND YEAR SHARINGS HELENA ZABA, ALEXANDRA KHAGEEVA, HAMMOND PEI, MORGAN JONES & NICOLE WONG UNCONVENTIONAL PATH SPENCER TURNER LIFE AS A TRAINEE MATTHEW SHELLEY & AMY SHAW A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A MINI-PUPIL TURAN HURSIT

29-40 FEATURES BRITISH LAW IS STEEPED IN TRADITIONS DAISY FULTON JUDGES AND MORALITY JADE WHITE ART OF THE THIRD REICH VERA YEH THE FUTURE IS LEAVING SHAUN WHITE DO JUDGES HAVE TOO MUCH POWER? JAMES MARLOW

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DICTA 2014 CONTENTS

INTERNATIONAL AND STUDY ABROAD

1 50-56

THE CREATIVE SIDE OF LAW SHAUN WHITE TO IMPROVE IS TO CHANGE MEGAN DOYLE IMPENDING CRISIS MAX KOENEKOOP TRANSPARENCY IN SOUTH KOREA YOONYOUNG CHOI THE MANX LEGAL SYSTEM ELLA ENNOS-DANN A CHANGING NORTHERN IRELAND CIARA CORRIGAN FRANCE, TOURS SARAH CARTIN VALENCIA, SPAIN TERRI HOUSTON AND IMMI PALMER GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS WILLIAM MARTIN POITIERS, FRANCE LAURA DAVIDSON HELSINKI, FINLAND HELEN PEDEN SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE GEORGE AVERY FUKUOKA, JAPAN JENNY COOK

UBLC A LETTER FROM THE UBLC PRESIDENT DANIEL BISHOP THE HUNT CUP AARON LEE MOOTING REPORT ANDY SANGER AND LAUREN WEBB UBLC SOCIALS EMILY CRAXTON UBLC FRESHERS TRIP COLLIN CHEONG MUN CHUN UBLC SPORTS MILES POPE AND FREDDIE MEHLIG CAP PROGRAMME THARA GOPALAN THE BAR SOCIETY TURAN HURSIT

57-63 CULTURE WENDY PHILLIPS INTERVIEW ELIZABETH MCDONALD THE EVOLVING LAW FIRM JOSH THOULD MODERN COURTHOUSE DESIGN LIAM GALVIN REVIEW: BINGHAM’S THE RULE OF LAW ROBERT COX LAW, FILM AND A NEW LEGAL WORLD EMILY BUENO THE LAW ON SCREEN NATALIE LIM

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SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE A COUNTRY IN PERIL Should Scotland be an independent country?

by Ciara Corrigan

T

he prospect of Scottish independence has been a live issue in British politics since the 1970s. The landslide victory of the Scottish National Party in the most recent elections comes at the end of a century which has seen the dissolution of empires and the rise of national self-determination as a keystone of modern international politics. Debate surrounding the issue is heated and divisive, with some predicting “the end of Great Britain” whilst others remain convinced that the results of the referendum will have little significant impact on the existing state of affairs.

However, it is impossible to deny that Scotland’s departure from the Union would represent a dramatic change in the British constitutional order.

Of the devolved powers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland has the strongest history as an independent state. It existed as an independent nation until 1707 when the Scottish and English Parliaments passed Acts of Union creating a Parliament of Great Britain.

Unlike Wales and Ireland, Scotland retained its own church and legal system under the Union. This history of independence is reflected in The Scotland Act 1998, which gives the new Scottish Parliament the greatest powers of the three devolved regions, although Westminster does retain ultimate sovereignty over the devolved legislature.

The fact that Scottish and English law exist as fundamentally different and separate legal systems suggests that, in practice, Scotland’s departure from the Union would have little effect on the domestic British legal system. The Scottish criminal justice system in particular is distinct from that of England and Wales, with the highest court of appeal being the Court of Justiciary. As a result, aside from the impact of legislation passed

by Westminster, the common law aspects of the Scottish system have allowed a criminal law to develop that is specific to Scotland.

Whilst the British Supreme Court remains the final court of appeal in civil cases, there is a long standing principle that decisions of the court are binding only in the jurisdiction from which the appeal originated.

Therefore, Supreme Court decisions on English matters do not bind Scottish courts deciding similar cases at a lower level, although they will undoubtedly have a persuasive influence. It seems reasonable to assume that an independent Scotland would adopt a similar relationship with the Supreme Court as Commonwealth countries such as Australia, where the decisions of the British court are influential but far from binding. Rather than creating a new legal order, by breaking its ties with Britain Scotland would merely be cutting the final thread between what are essentially already two separate systems.

Less certain, however, is the question of how a new, independent Scotland will be viewed by the European Union. Whilst it is widely accepted that a “new” United Kingdom consisting of England, Wales and Northern Ireland would not have to renegotiate its membership of international treaties, the position of a newly created independent Scotland is much less clear. Scotland currently has strong links with the EU including having Scottish MEPs representing the UK in Europe. However, despite earlier claims by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond that an independent Scotland would automatically become part of the EU, a number of European voices have been raised to oppose this notion.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been particularly adamant in his insistence that if Scotland were to leave the UK it would have to reapply to join the EU as an independent country. The Union appears to have adopted a similar approach in its official position. However, there is no precedent for how the EU should respond to new countries created by secession from an existing Member State. An independent Scotland would Dicta | 2014 Page 8

be breaking new ground in Europe, at a time when independence movements in the Catalonian region of Spain and the Flanders region of Belgium mean that the approach taken towards Scotland could reverberate throughout the entire European Union.

Finally, there has been much speculation about how Scottish independence would affect the remaining devolved powers in Wales and Northern Ireland. Certain nationalist groups in each region claim that Scotland’s departure from the union would herald a turning point in their quest to do the same. However, given the low rate of support for complete Welsh independence and the delicate political situation in Northern Ireland, immediate dramatic change seems unlikely. It is more probable that Scottish independence would lead to a call for further powers to be devolved to national government, particularly in Wales where there has been a surge in support for giving the Senedd greater legislative ability. Perhaps in the long term Scottish independence could pave the way for Welsh independence and the reunification of Ireland, but this is most likely not an issue that will arise in the near future.

In conclusion, whilst Scottish independence would undoubtedly impact the domestic British legal system to a certain extent, its greatest legal impact would arguably be in Europe.

Ultimately, these issues will only move beyond the realm of speculation when the results of next September’s referendum are released.

Should Scotland be an independent country? The answer is yet to be decided, but one thing is certain: in a new legal world that champions the right to self-governance, it is a question that deserves to be asked.

Ciara Corrigan is a second year LLB law student originally from Northern Ireland. This is her second year contributing to Dicta and she hopes to continue into a career in journalism.

TOMORROW’S EUROPE THE REALISATION OF A EUROPEAN IDEAL Is the union between the UK & EU growing ever more distant?

by Roberto Martinez

A

New Legal World for the UK: if Britain left the EU Britain’s island status, it can be argued, has engendered an attachment to the concept of Sovereignty. Thus, in 1951, when the foreign ministers of six European countries got together to work out the details of an economic and political alliance, which would grow to become the European Union, Britain declined the offer of joining.

The idea was to bring Europe together to mark a turning point in its divisive and bloody history, by developing economics bonds. Only ten years later, when the economic advantages of the union became obvious, did Britain apply for membership of what was then the European Economic Community.

T h e progressive factual realisation of the aim of “an ever closer union”, now spelled out in Article 1 of the Treaty of the European Union, has troubled Eurosceptics. We have come so far from an institution seeking merely to enhance the trade of coal and steel between European States that most British feel this not to be what it originally signed up for.

The European Commission’s latest Eurobarometre seems to confirm this by stating that only 44% of Britons are in favour of the membership, whilst 48% want the UK to leave. This adds to the call by many Eurosceptic MPs for things to change, and has led to the introduction of the European Union (Referendum) Bill in the House of Commons, providing for a UK-wide in/out referendum by 2017. Most MPs – regardless of their position as to the prospect of a withdrawal– have praised the legislative move itself as a way of putting the decision in the hands of the voters. Nevertheless the Bill is yet to go through the House

of Lords, and it has been criticised as being a dangerous populist move involving a decision to be made by a generally uninformed electorate. But if enough really is enough, how does a State leave the EU? Can we even imagine a life outside the Union, and if so how would it work?

No Member State has ever left the Community but they are all given the right to do so under Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union, which sets out two ways through which a Member State can repeal its membership: either through an agreement negotiated with the Union, or by waiting two years after notification of the intention to withdraw.

Repeal of the membership would effectively give back full national control to the Parliament, reconnecting it with its voters and ceasing the devolutive concessions to the EU in areas such as social policy, economy and foreign relations.

Leaving the EU would give back to Dicta | 2014 Page 9

the UK the freedom to relocate its resources currently committed to the Union to its citizens. Moreover, as things stand, Britain’s control over its borders is limited to non-EU immigration, but a withdrawal would allow the adoption of a tighter control on immigration policy.

In fact, there are ongoing negotiations as to a possible further opt out of the whole chapter on Justice and Home Affairs, regardless of the outcome of the 2017 referendum. The argument made by most Eurosceptics is that there are no benefits gained by being in the EU which cannot be preserved under a post-withdrawal EU-UK agreement defining a new relationship based on free trade and friendly international relations. Be that as it may, it would be easy argue that all this is pure speculation, and it would not be wrong either. It remains to be seen how good of a “Plan B” will Britain be able to negotiate with the Community or whether the split will be amicable at all, as many countries might - and probably will - refuse to allow the UK a “pick and mix” approach to the Union’s rules.

Parliamentary Sovereignty would be restored, but at what price?

The reality is that there is not a single area of national legislation which is not affected by Union law. In the absence of negotiations providing otherwise, all EU Treaties, Regulations and Decisions would cease to be applicable, necessarily creating a policy and legislative gap which the Government would then have to fill. Moreover there would be a need to identify all national legislative measures affected by the repeal, and this would be everything but easy. On the other hand, European Directives are implemented through Acts of

Parliament, which means that it would take several specific resolutions by Westminster to make the effects of those Directives redundant. Finally, those who want Britain to leave the EU should not forget the thousands (and this is no dramatised number) of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements covering the UK, but signed by the EU. If Britons decided to leave the Union this would necessarily require complex and costly negotiations to set up new accords with the EU itself and with various other countries. To this must be added the issue of the system of rights and obligations that apply to British citizens and businesses in the EU –and vice versa. It might be argued that some rights have been irreversibly conferred on the nationals of the Member States, and if any EU rights could be enforced after withdrawal, these will likely be included.

If a referendum is held in 2017, it won’t be the first time Britons are asked to vote on the continuity of EU membership. Following the controversial lack of referendum as to the initial accession to the EEC,

the new Labour government of 1974 decided to give the British people the final say on the membership, and a decisive “yes” was given by 67% of the voters. The difference in EUrelated public opinion between now and then is not that surprising, as the Union has become so much more than what it was in the mid 1970s. Through small economic developments it has become progressively more politically orientated, creating a growing discomfort in those who believe that Britain must be able to stand on its own and make self-sufficiency its guiding principle. Focusing on the current global economic crisis, people tend to forget that the EU has guaranteed peace and cooperation between now 28 member states, and that it has created and maintained an ever-growing common market, today representing 52% of the UK’s total trade in goods and services. Millions of European citizens and businesses benefit from the free trade area, and should Britain leave the Union, they would no longer have to abide

by EU rules, but nor would they be able invoke them in their favour. For Dicta | 2014 Page 10

example, whereas a British business could today never be expected to pay custom duties when exporting its products to other Member States, it might find itself again under this burden if the UK were to walk away.

Whatever happens, one thing is certain: it will be impossible for Britain to go back to its legally cosy and some might say politically isolated - pre-EU position, simply because the Union has become a part of British life. As painful as it is for both sides to admit, the UK has contributed to the realisation of the European ideal.

Roberto Martinez is a second year student on the LLB Law course.

I’m a research editor for the Bristol Law Review and would like my law degree to allow me to enter the field of international relations.

PRESS PLAY CAMERAS IN COURT

Has the perversion of media into the courtroom introduced an irreversible precedent?

by Emma Grunnill

T

he Crime and Courts Act 2013 has allowed for cameras to film inside the Court of Appeal. This is the first time that cameras have been permitted in a courtroom aside from the Supreme Court. It is a move that has been welcomed by judges, politicians and broadcasters.

Even Prime Minister Cameron claimed that the changes were just ‘the first step,’ to modernising the current structure. But, the Act is contentious.

It is the role of the broadcasting corporations that has raised suspicions among those who doubt the reasoning behind the change. Baroness Helena Kennedy claims that the television companies “seek the salacious and the sensational...it wants the sight of a celebrity in the dock.”

This highlights a concern that television corporations are far less interested in the general public’s right to view court proceedings, and more concerned with ratings.

Whilst the scandalous details that trials may reveal seem interesting for others to watch, the proceedings that take place in courts are not for the public’s entertainment.

The cases involve real people and real lives. The reality must not be glamorised. This concern leads critics to believe that we are heading towards an American style legal system whereby high profile cases become sensationalised by media corporations. Look no further than the O.J. Simpson trial in the mid-1990s. The trial was televised around the world after the retired football star was alleged to have committed murder.

There are fears that the courts in England and Wales will soon follow the American system whereby cameras would be focusing on all aspects of the court – not just on the commentary of l lawyers and judges.

For example, Louise Woodward was accused of murder in Massachusetts. She claimed, “the camera put unnecessary pressure on all the parties involved.”

She is aware that the publicity was one of the reasons for her conviction being overturned, but remains pessimistic.

She suggested that cameras are far more than the “impartial observer” depicted by the broadcasting corporations.

In fact, it alters the entire courtroom dynamic. Potential witnesses, victims, and even juries may be reluctant to participate.

Surely justice is jeopardised if innocent members of the public are discouraged from participating due to media scrutiny.

Are there any reasonable alternatives that could perhaps act as a compromise, which would allow the public to gain a clearer insight into the justice system without being warped by a media controlled environment? The imposition of regulations may restrict the ‘sensationalisation’ aspects. Yet, how much trust do we have in these media corporations? It is often the case

that broadcast companies and newspaper organisations depart from the accuracy of events in order to gain better ratings.

It is also questionable as to whether the majority of the public will be motivated to watch these proceedings for the drama or, the administrative and procedural aspects of the trial. It must be asked at what point will the cameras and publicity start to interfere with justice? Are we headed for an American style legal system with the public acting like a second jury? Many people will watch the news with its

carefully selected highlights, which will feature the ‘actionpacked’ footage neatly framed to fit in a particular time slot. The likelihood of biased footage is high. The broadcast companies, who focus on ratings, will tailor the show to appeal to their audience.

As with the Simpson case, many people believed that they were watching the trial as it unfolded. In reality though, viewers were drawn to the car chase and the infamous glove incident.

It must be questioned how much people can gain from watching such biased news.

Is it really the insight into the justice system that will ‘increase confidence,’ as Lord Chief Justice predicted?

“It must be asked at what point will the cameras and publicity start to interfere with justice?”

Emma Grunnill is a second year LLB student. She has taken a keen interest in finance, and hopes to work for a commercial law firm in the near future.

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THE INTERNET AND THE LAW UNDERHAND TACTICS

Bitcoin & Silk Road are currently in the spotlight. What legal issues do they present?

by Calvin Yang

W

herever technology goes, the law needs to keep up.

That is the rule of the new legal world. Nothing accommodates and promotes new technology more than the internet. That means the internet certainly is one of the biggest sources of new legal issues. With torrents came anti-piracy concerns.

With the advent of social media privacy legal issues followed. Recent additions to the mountain of problems faced by legislators and law-enforcers are Bitcoin, Silk Road, and a bunch of derivatives.

Let us first examine Bitcoin, which feeds many, though probably not all, evils. Just like most inventions, the motivation for creating Bitcoin was undoubtedly good. Its developer Amir Taaki declared that his intention was to allow people to send money to whomever they want, wherever they want, and whenever they want, without any legal restrictions. The result is a virtual currency that is decentralised from banks, and allows anonymous peer-to-peer transactions. Yes, full anonymity – no traces, no records.

This introduces many possibilities, such as anonymous donations to causes such as WikiLeaks. Fantastic, isn’t it?

What is a dream to lawabiding people can also be a dream to crooks, and a nightmare for lawenforcers. Bitcoin is now a favourite tool for money laundering, conducting illegal transactions and holding people to ransom. On the matter of illegal transactions, Bitcoin is the sole mode of payment on Silk Road, a separate and distinct product of creativity on the internet. Silk Road is a marketplace for drugs, stolen credit card credentials, fake passports, guns-for-hire, and any other contraband you can think of. As Tor, a program that prevents any tracing, and Bitcoin are used, all transactions are fully anonymous and no information regarding the buyer and seller can be uncovered. A FBI special agent described Silk Road as “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet”.

The difficulty with taking down the marketplace is that it is based on the internet. Anything that is on the internet is no longer fully tangible; it exists as a manifestation of an idea.

You can take a drug cartel apart, but

you cannot dismantle an idea. It took two and a half years for the FBI to track down Silk Road’s alleged owner and for the Department of Justice to take down the site. Four weeks of respite is all that law-enforcers got before the illegal marketplace was resurrected – as Silk Road 2.0. The new site taunted the authorities by replacing FBI’s words “this hidden site has been seized” to “this site has risen again”. Meanwhile, Silk Road’s competitor, Black Market Reloaded, continued offering identical services.

It remains to be seen how long these sites can evade control. Given a guess, I would say a very long time. Bitcoin is also used by another troop of crooks – hackers.

The value of Bitcoin lies in that it is currently still unregulated, and in that transactions are neither traceable nor reversible. Hitherto, only Germany has officially recognised Bitcoin as “private money” with the aim of regulating and taxing it. Bernanke, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve is considering doing

“You can take a drug cartel apart, but you cannot dismantle an idea.” the same. The UK government has yet to react to this new phenomenon.

Because transactions are untraceable and irreversible, any payments made to crooks in Bitcoins are virtually final, with no hopes of tracing and recovering it. Hackers have created a malware called Cryptolocker, sent as an attachment in a legitimate-looking email that urges its recipient to open it.

These malwares are no news; they have existed for as long as internet existed.

However, most traditional malware creators only sought to create chaos instead of using them for profit. This is because payment to any bank account can eventually be traced. That is where Bitcoin comes in. The malware, once opened, encrypts the user’s hard drive and demands a ransom, in Bitcoins.

A spokesman for Internet security firm Symantec said that, “I don’t think anyone in the world could break the encryption.” The US police force is a recent victim of the malware. One of

Dicta | 2014 Page 12

its computers was infected and the police had to buy and pay the ransom of two Bitcoins, which is worth about £800 at the time of writing, for the release of the hard drive. No one will ever know where the payment went.

The legitimate use of Bitcoin is also becoming increasingly widespread, and it is entirely conceivable that crimes and legal problems will ensue. Many startups that provide Bitcoin online services have risen, and attracted investment in the millions from venture-capital firms and angel investors. A store in Canada hosted the first ever Bitcoin ATM. The problem with Bitcoin (and its value at the same time) is that it does not exist physically, but only as a computer file. Just as burglars and robbers make off with physical money, hackers steal Bitcoins. More than a million pounds have been stolen from Polish, Czech, Danish and Australian sites recently. Individual owners are just as, if not more susceptible to online criminals. Now, where does the law come in? The answer is that it is nowhere in sight. While law-enforcers are still trying to figure out Bitcoin and its myriad derivatives, criminals are already wrecking havoc with them.

It can be seen that the Internet and many of its new phenomena are creating a new legal world. It is a world where proficiency in black-letter law is utterly insufficient. If the government wants to regulate these internet products to thwart crimes and protect its citizens, it needs technology experts to aid in both the legislating process and in enforcing the law. We know very well that technology is dynamic and ever evolving, and that criminals are making good use of it. Instead of playing whack-a-mole, and playing it badly, the law needs to keep up.

The Internet and the Law: Bitcoin and Silk Road are currently in the spotlight for the crimes associated with them.

Calvin Yang examines the legal issues they present.

Innovative and enterprising criminals are making use of the internet in conducting crimes, and governments need to step up in tackling them.

Calvin Yang is a second-year LLB Law student, the Treasurer of the UBLC, the Campus Brand Manager of DLA Piper, and an aspiring solicitor.

PRO BONO LAWYERS FOR FREE

Is the question of legal work without fees really too good to be true?

by Patrick O’Kane

M

ore junior lawyers are doing pro bono work than ever before and more City law firms are using it as an integral part of their commitment to the wider community and corporate social responsibility (CSR). With access to justice becoming more problematic than ever before, with the reduction in public funding for legal services, pro bono work has never been as important as it is today. Pro bono, or to give it its Latin name pro bono publico (for the public good), means to give legal advice, or representation to those who cannot afford to pay and where public funding is not available.

This area has, however, been greatly affected by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, which passed into law in April 2012 and paved the way for £350 million worth of legal aid cuts for much of social welfare law. The consequence of this is that vulnerable members of society will find legal advice and representation in the courts, funded by legal aid, more difficult to obtain. In this climate, a new space is clearly created for the provision of pro bono work. The figures speak for themselves. In 2013, 45% of all newly qualified solicitors provided pro bono services, up from 36% in 2012. So far this year, an equal proportion of newly qualified and partner-level solicitors are providing pro bono services.

O v e r a l l , 44% of practising certificate holders did pro bono work in the past 12 months. International firm Dentons has doubled its pro bono hours annual target from 50 to 100 hours for lawyers in its London and Milton Keynes offices. Law Society President Nicholas Fluck said: ‘Pro bono is hugely important to ensure access to justice for the most vulnerable of people…it is really encouraging to see the newest members of our profession undertaking pro bono work and it bodes well for the future of this vital service.’ But the UK must do more to narrow the access to justice gap. It has been suggested that the it should adopt the approach of other jurisdictions and make pro bono activities mandatory for all firms to meet the growing need for free advice in this

new legal landscape. In Australia, law firms conducting government work are required to commit to pro bono. In Singapore, the hours of mandatory pro bono a solicitor must undertake before qualifying has increased from 20 to 40.

Alternatively, the UK could follow New York’s lead and create a compulsory pro bono scheme to fill the legal aid gap. From January 2015, all applicants to the New York bar must have carried out at least 50 hours of legal pro bono work. This will inject 500,000 hours’ worth of voluntary legal services, which Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, says will address a crisis situation in New York and around the country whereby citizens with shrinking budgets are now more likely to go to court without a lawyer.

These new initiatives demonstrate that certain jurisdictions are addressing the access to justice gap and are challenging legal boundaries.

Where does this leave the UK? It is under pressure to follow the same path as the likes of New York. But there is a deep philosophical issue about whether pro bono should be seen as a voluntary or compulsory activity. It can be argued that the crisis is so acute that appealing to a sense of volunteerism alone is insufficient to lift the amount of pro bono work.

Solicitors already have to do compulsory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and it is arguable that this should be the same for the number of pro bono hours. There is also more pressure on MPs, with constituents attending surgeries with problems that have a ‘legal angle’.

While compulsory pro bono would help to meet the increasing need, traditionally pro bono work has always been voluntary in nature and if it is made mandatory, a lot of its honourable nature would be lost. It should be a personal choice for each lawyer. Volunteerism is the heart and soul of it. But while it should not be compulsory, at the same time it should be encouraged to be an essential part of legal training.

Increasingly, law students are highly encouraged to become involved. By working directly on real cases, pro bono work provides students Dicta | 2014 Page 13

with a unique opportunity to gain skills which are different to those that are imparted through the degree, as well as being incredibly valuable when seeking employment. The first-hand experience of the practical application of law outside the confinements of academia enables one to put into perspective the relationship between law in theory and law in practice.

The awareness of how pro bono operates and why it is needed anchors and enhances the learning of law. Furthermore, through the process of case and client handling, skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership are developed that can be translated to other areas of university experience and development. It really is a ‘win-win’ situation for students, who are given the opportunity to use their legal knowledge and skills in a real-life context. There should always be a place for the provision of legal skills and services on a pro bono basis. But it should not be a replacement for a properly funded legal system. Compulsory pro bono work enables the government to evade its responsibilities. Pro bono work, being entirely voluntary, cannot offer the same level of practical support people that the legal aid system has not provided for. Pro bono work in the level that it exists at present cannot adequately replace the legal aid system.

To attempt to do so would require considerable expansion. The dilution of the legal aid system has resulted in people of means who are able to pay for quality legal advice having an unfair advantage in litigation over the economically disadvantaged.

This is a regressive step.

Access to justice is now a serious difficulty that must be addressed. In the absence of proactive action by the government, pro bono work will become increasingly important as time progresses.

Patrick O’kane is a second-year LLB Law student and Training Manager of the University of Bristol Law Clinic 2013/14. In September 2014 he will undertake an Erasmus year at the University of Helsinki

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF JUSTICE? LEGAL AID CUTS

What repercussions will arise from legal aid cuts, and how will it impact the Bar?

by Alexandra Savilo

I

n light of recent legal aid cuts to the criminal sector of the British legal system, there are those that criticise our system for being egregiously expensive compared to other countries. Simply looking at the figures, the drop in spending from £1.2 billion to £975 million might appear to some as not a large enough cut. However, the problem in reading statistics at face value is that we tend to divorce the context of the statistic and attempt to understand the statistic in isolation. This article is going to attempt to change that by not only explaining what these numbers really mean, but also what this means for the future of the legal system many hope to practice in. First off, it is important to note that when comparing the English common law system to others, adversarial systems should not be taken into consideration.

The way governments allocate budgets between common law and adversarial systems is very different, meaning “our legal budget pays for things that in other countries are transferred to other budgets”.

Secondly, it is critical 1 to understand the efficiency a certain budget can

provide to the legal sphere. According to a recent European Commission report on the “Efficiency of Justice”, England ranks 10th out of 14 different countries when it comes to how much is spent per person with regard to legal fees. These two points alone are starting to create an image that a number that once appeared gigantic may have reasons for being so large.

Sadiq Khan, Shadow Justice Secretary of England illuminated to readers in an article to the Guardian that in order to better understand the meaning of how much is allocated to legal aid in the budget, it is important to know how much the ministry is actually spending vis-à-vis the actual amount allocated. According to the Ministry of Justice annual report and accounts for 2012-2013, there appears to be 56.4 million pounds in underspend – 28.9 of which was specific to the criminal legal aid sector.

Why was this the case? The report goes on to elaborate that the result of this underspend in the criminal legal aid sector was due to “lower court activity, suppressed legal aid demand due to an increase in privately funded defendants and the impact of pricing Dicta | 2014 Page 14

reductions.” On the face of this, what the Shadow Justice Secretary says would make it seem that the UK should certainly be cutting its funding in the legal system given how much underspend there is. After all, an inefficiency of budget allocation in the government negatively impacts the national economy. Yet, looking at the reports’ reasoning in the criminal legal aid sector where most of the 56.4 million was underspent, there are many questions left unanswered: what prices are being reduced? And why are citizens seeking privately funded legal counsel in lieu of legal aid? The answer to this lies in how much our barristers in the criminal legal aid department are getting paid.

The average legal aid fees in criminal cases are significantly lower than what most teachers and doctors would earn – approximately 35-40 pounds an hour. In light of these new legal aid reductions, 60% of criminal legal aid barristers face working for fees of less than 20 pounds a day, something which according to the Criminal Bar Association, 98% of British barristers are not prepared to do.

Currently, there are threats from criminal barristers for strike action if the government does not reverse the plans to further reverse the legal aid reductions. Thus, when criminal legal aid barristers get paid so little (the price reductions), they cannot provide their services to legal aid clients and maintain a decent standard of living. As a result, regardless of how many cases a criminal legal aid barrister works they will barely make enough to sustain themselves and are forced to look for work elsewhere, such as the private sector.

Clients who are entitled to criminal legal aid are thus forced to seek privately funded criminal law barristers where their fees will naturally be higher than those offered by legal aid, creating the suppressed legal aid demand and shift toward private legal counsel mentioned by the law report. And because these fees are so high compared to that of legal aid, there is naturally a lower court activity because people can’t afford to go to court with their cases, inherently lowering the access to justice.

Unfortunately the effects of these cuts do not fall simply in the hand of current practicing barristers, but also law students aspiring to be criminal legal aid barristers.

Given the fairly recent change in tuition fees across the

country, students who wish to pursue university education are now paying approximately 9000 pounds per year, rather than for their entire degree.

Ensuring employment that can sustain a decent standard of living as well as pay off student debts is essential for students. Given that current legal aid criminal law barristers make so little, it might appeal to current law students to seek other forms of legal employment than this to ensure a sound financial future, furthering the loss of access to justice for those who do not have the financial capability to bring serious criminal legal issues to court.

As the theme of this issue in Dicta suggests, the new legal world is now in the hands of current barristers and aspiring barristers. Having read the two articles describing the potential impacts on the British legal system of legal aid cuts in the previous edition - one explaining that in an age of austerity the government must be frugal in how it spends its money, while the other demanded that the money be brought back, it has become apparent that these cuts were made with no clear reallocation of the cases that have now fallen out of the umbrella that legal aid could have covered. When one loses the ability to pay court fees it means that person can no longer bring the case they wish to court, specifically, in this instance, a criminal law action. Is the

Dicta | 2014 Page 15

price of legal aid cuts a loss of access to justice and the courts from both sides of the bench? If we argue that due to the age of austerity we live in we are forced to withdraw this money with no hope of returning it to the system, we must argue for pro bono expansion in private firms perhaps through the passing of an Act, or find a way for the cases to be heard to maintain the legal system that is the envy of the world.

If we argue that government spending must be returned to where it was originally allocated we must understand why this is necessary and create measures that provide a livable wage for barristers whilst creating alongside it a manageable system that does not bankrupt the government. It cannot be denied; these current legal aid reductions to the criminal law system are not only detrimental but also devastating to current barristers, future barristers, those who seek criminal legal aid and the legal system itself.

Alexandra Savilo is in the first year of her second degree, studying law at the University of Bristol. She is a competitive member of the Bristol Debate Union, and aspires to open her own NGO after becoming an international public lawyer.

BELIEVING IN JUSTICE? INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR JONATHAN BURNSIDE

Jonanthan Burnside is Professor of Biblical Law and author of “God, Justice and Society”

by Clement Fung

W

hat is the role and value of religious law today and why should students care

about it?

We live in a world that is highly motivated by religious law, of one kind or another. We don’t live in a secular world. We live in a secular island in a religious world. You can’t pretend to be an educated person and think about, say, foreign policy without understanding religious law.

Some would argue that even the UK itself is more accurately characterised as a ‘post-secular’ society. By which I mean that on the one hand, we have quite strident secularism – political statements about ‘we don’t do God’ and illiteracy about religions – and at the same time a lot of religious language being used in public discourse and very active faith-based groups working with Government in the public square. So whether we personally are sympathetic to religious faith or not – whether we self-identify as religious, secular or post-secular – we have to engage with it. And I think University is a good context in which to be doing that. The role of University is precisely to cause us to think beyond ourselves to world views other than our own.

What is Biblical Law?

Trying to define biblical law is a bit like trying to define Law in general – it seems quite straightforward, on one level, but is in fact quite complex on another. In straightforward terms, biblical law is about looking

at ideas about law, legal institutions and justice in the Bible, in particular the Old Testament, and asking what do these biblical texts, which have been so powerful in shaping Western thought and civilisation, not least our understanding of law, have to say that we wouldn’t find from looking at other legal texts, whether ancient or modern.

That’s the straightforward approach.

At the same time, all of the individual laws in the Bible need to be set in the context of wider biblical narratives, proverbial sayings, Wisdom literature, even poetry which in turn means that what biblical law really is, is an integration of different instructional genres in the Bible. So it’s a more complex thing than it first appears, but that’s true of the phenomenon of Law generally. After all, the further you progress in your legal studies, the more complex a phenomenon you discover Law to be. Law isn’t just law in the books, it is law in society, it is law in terms of norms we are personally committed to, our sense of how we believe things ought to be. Law is an integration of all of these different things which is what makes it – and biblical law – so interesting! What do students get out of studying What do students get out of studying Biblical Law at Bristol?

Generally, what happens when students study Law is that they study discrete subjects – Contract, Tort, Land – but they don’t get much opportunity to make connections between them. Studying biblical law gives you the chance to see how all the different aspects of a legal system fit together. For example, take a single law like the law of jubilee, which concerns the periodic cancellation of debts and the return of alienated land back to its original owners and/or their descendants. In just one law, you get a sense of how land law connects up with care for the environment and intergenerational justice, as well as access to justice because it prevents the concentration of wealth in the hands Dicta | 2014 Page 16

of powerful families. The point is: it all fits together. You cannot look at land use without simultaneously engaging in issues about the administration of justice or the economy.

So you begin to see how one part of the legal process fits in and affects other parts. It also builds up into a world view, about how justice irrigates in a refreshing way all sectors of society, especially alienated and disenfranchised persons who are living life on the margins. It therefore gives you a value system on which to reflect upon any legal system. It helps you to be critical about Law, about how well it strikes a balance between different competing values. It also gives us an opportunity to connect Law up with other disciplines, whether literature or philosophy, history, aesthetics, or linguistics. That’s important. After all, if we really want to understand what Law is we need to understand it in its broader context. It gives us a better handle on the question of what Law is. One student told me the great thing about studying Jewish Law is that they understood Jurisprudence for the first time!

What is your favourite aspect of Biblical law?

Its radical nature. We should never forget the fact that the Torah – loosely translated as ‘law’ – in the Hebrew Bible, is presented as having been given to Israel following her liberation from slavery in Egypt. It’s spoken directly into the experience of those who have personally suffered the most extreme forms of totalitarianism and degradation; real conditions of helplessness, disenfranchisement, and dehumanisation. That’s the context into which biblical law is spoken. One of the many misconceptions people have about biblical law is that it tends to promote a rather stuffy, perhaps right-wing, conformity.

It doesn’t. Biblical law both undercuts and transcends traditional ‘right/left’ political oppositions. It’s a prophetic and devastating critique

of oppression in every age, whether perpetrated by ancient Egypt, Babylon, or Rome as well as modern projections of power which have the effect of twisting our humanity out of shape.

Is Biblical Law still a valuable perspective for the non-religious or believer of other faiths?

I’d say so. Whatever your particular perspective, you’re living in the West and studying an English legal system that has been profoundly impacted by the Bible. The cultural furniture that we interact with on a day-to-day basis isn’t here out of nowhere. We need to understand where the things we take for granted come from. For example, the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, describes a separation of powers between different executive bodies; king, judiciary and priesthood which scholars see as being the direct antecedent of the American Constitution. Ideas have a history, a biography, and biblical law is part of that. It’s an interesting observation that the Bible is increasingly popular in low-income countries and amongst peoples who are not in a position of privilege.

People assume that because I write about biblical law and theology

I must be on some sort of an easy wicket with, say, theologians or senior members of the church hierarchy.

That’s not the case. It doesn’t surprise me that biblical law is most ably expressed in certain parts of the world by those who are oppressed; nor does it surprise me that biblical law is not taken very seriously by many, say, in the Western church who occupy positions of influence. At the end of the day, biblical law is all about speaking truth to power. It is always spoken against the powerful, against government that thinks it can do what it likes, and against those who occupy privileged, and potentially abusive, positions. It is profoundly destabilising and critical of current exercises of power in society.

That’s its nature. So as long as human civilisation continues there will always be a place for biblical law.

What do you enjoy most about teaching at Bristol?

I suppose my most memorable moments are when I find myself with a group of happy students who want to learn; when we’re in that space where we are all learning together. I know it sounds corny but when the time comes for me to say farewell, that is what I will miss the Dicta | 2014 Page 17

most.

Your office is incredibly stylish! Tell us about it.

Glad you like it! We’re very privileged to be working in the Wills Memorial Building and it’s good to take of the rooms. I restored all the wood and painted the alcoves and radiators so it would look cohesive. I also bought furniture especially to fit the slightly awkward but characterful shape of the room and also to keep the colours ‘tight’. If you give some thought in advance, or buy furniture to fit a room, you can always make a room feel bigger with stuff in it than it does without it.

Clement Fung is a second year MA in Law student. He studied Physical and Environmental Geography at the University of Toronto. He intends to pursue a career as a commercial solicitor, in Hong Kong.

SHARIA LAW ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

What place do the principles of Sharia Law have in the modern legal world?

by Anonymous

T

he mention of Sharia law evokes images of beheadings, missing limbs, stoning, and vastly misogynistic practices that are inherently evil. Indeed, these are the results of the twisted and corrupt system of Sharia designed by extremist fanatics in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Clerics in these countries claim to follow Islam’s highest teachings, but in fact use them as an excuse to abuse their people under the guise of religious legitimacy. As a result, citizens of these countries have a legal and religious obligation to follow these barbaric laws. This encourages an alarmist view of Sharia principles around the world.

The media has not helped by pushing the idea that these horrific systems are being forced onto Western countries.

An even more damaging assertion is that this corrupt version of Sharia is something that reflects the original, allegorical teachings of Islam.

The truth is that properly constituted Sharia law, in its purest form, emanates from the principles of the Qur’an, Islam’s holiest book, and the Sunnah, a set of original teachings and textual interpretations by the Muslim Prophet Muhammed. Seen today, a layman would find almost nothing in common between these texts and the practices in Saudi Arabia.

The brutality of Sharia, as applied in some countries, cannot be denied and should be condemned. However, light must be shed on how Sharia can be, and is, a legal and sensible form of dispute resolution that operates within and under English national law. This must begin with a basic explanation of what it is and how it works.

Simply put, Sharia principles determine the guidelines by which adherents of Islam conduct their lives and extend beyond the civil and criminal ambits of English law. For example, it extends to personal aspects of life like diet, banking, and marriage.

By definition, these principles are merely moral obligations, not legal ones. In a sense, Sharia can be considered Law in that its adherents

wilfully choose to adopt a unique set of normative social rules. In fact, many Muslims believe that Sharia principles should be observed with as much dedication as secular laws. Their ability to do so should be respected as a basic matter of the freedom to contract with one another.

In the same way academics judge our performance in university exams, Sharia principles require special arbitrators to adjudicate everyday cases based on what the rules are and how they are applied. When a Muslim adopts these principles for their personal life (in the narrowest of senses), they do so by stipulating that they come under the authority of Islamic arbitration tribunals. This is analogous to when adherents of Judaism choose to use rabbinical courts or when a disagreeable American family agrees to appear on Judge Judy.

The former President of the UK Supreme Court, Nicholas Phillips, threw light on this issue by stating: “There is no reason why Sharia principles, or any other religious code, should not be the basis of mediation or other forms of alternate dispute resolution.” In 2008, ‘Muslim Arbitration Tribunals’ (MAT) were set up in the United Kingdom under the Arbitration Act 1996 so that Muslims in the UK could choose to arbitrate

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their disputes using Sharia law rather than English Law. MATs are affordable and convenient venues for Muslims to resolve personal issues that don’t necessarily require the full force of the national courts. More often than not, the most common areas in which parties opt-in to MATs involve basic domestic and community issues, such as complaints about neighbours’ noise.

They also act to reduce the caseload of already overburdened British judges.

Of course, it is important in the UK that all types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that adhere to religious principles must obey English law. Ultimately, the judgment of any national court will overrule a conflicting opinion issued by a MAT or religious tribunal. Confidence in this system can only be maintained if the people know that Sharia law is consistent with the underlying constitutional values of the UK, including democracy, freedom, and human rights. To ensure this happens, a statutory commission must be established by the government with the task of monitoring these religious tribunals. The twisted forms of Sharia that exist today in other parts of the world must never be allowed to taint the English system of ADR.

Systems of arbitration that are completely subject to English law and the ECHR already exist, including rabbinical tribunals like the Jewish Battei Din. It is clear that Sharia Law can also serve as a reliable set of customs and traditions for ADR.

However, a parallel legal system, where citizens are subject to entirely different rules, would be an illegal contravention of our principles of democracy and the rule of law.

Individuals are not allowed to opt out of constitutional protections, even if they want to do so. It is therefore important that, in light of MATs and religious tribunals, the overarching English legal system still applies to everyone.

This article is written anonymously.

AN INCREASING INFLUENCE WHAT IS SHARIA LAW?

A factual exploration of divide between English and Sharia Law

W

hat is Sharia Law? The word Sharia means “a watering place” or “a flowing stream”. This meaning illustrates the fluid nature of the law, allowing for a variety of interpretations.

In the Islamic Holy book, alongside a variety of other sources and interpretations, Sharia law is said to combine “different manifestations of the same will” through the use of divine and unchangeable law. The main supplementary source to the Qur’an is the Hadith, which is the record of words and deeds of the prophet Muhammad. Yet, it is up to the particular school of Islam to decide which Hadith collection it uses for interpretation. Despite the wide caseby-case discretion and varied reasoning within Sharia law, its interpretation is too broad and over-reliant on social factors, therefore creating uncertainty, potential discrimination, and lack of consistency in application.

How Sharia Law is Followed in the UK

There are currently at least 85 Sharia councils and 5 Muslim Arbitration Tribunals operating in the UK. They provide Muslims with advice from an Islamic Sheik about how to act within the legal framework of their faith and also resolve disputes in mainly family and business matters.

They are able to enforce some of their judgments under the 1996 Arbitration Act, which allows the resolution of a dispute to be taken care of by an impartial tribunal. Sharia Councils are more accessible and affordable for Muslim people and it lightens the burden on civil courts by providing alternative mediation. However, due to the often underground nature of these courts there are fears of unseen discrimination and the creation of a dual legal system.

A Contrast between Sharia Law and English Law - Example of Divorce and Woman’s Rights

It is useful to take the example of divorce to compare Sharia

by Grace Boorer

Law and UK law since divorce cases makes up 95% of the cases that are dealt with by Sharia Councils. For many Muslims religious divorce is as (or more) important that civil divorce. Under Sharia law the divorce procedure for men and women is very different. A husband is able to divorce his wife through the “triple Talaq”; simply saying the word “Talaq” to his wife on three separate occasions.

However a woman must ask for their husband to divorce her or file for divorce in the Sharia Council in order to dissolve the marriage (process known as the ‘Hulah’). By contrast, in English law, the procedure for men and women is the same and simply requires that irretrievable breakdown of marriage to be proven by one of five facts. Although, the Shariah Council does recognise civil divorce, the huge difference in the procedure for men and women between the two legal systems brings about inequality that cannot be ignored. In one case it took a woman over three years to get a Sharia divorce whereas it only took her 2 months to get a civil divorce.

The Consequences of this Clash

Lord Chief Justice Lord Philips said “there is no reason why Sharia principles, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution”. It is clear that Sharia law is not only a valuable form of dispute resolution, saving time and money, but provides important religious guidance for Muslims residing in the UK. However, there is evidence that real cases of injustice are occurring within these religious courts which could cause serious danger for the women involved. For example, one organisation reported 1700 calls in just one year from women who wanted advice concerning domestic violence as they would not be heard in Sharia courts.

Furthermore, registration of Muslim marriage is not required in the United Kingdom and mosques are rarely licensed to perform marriages.

Dicta | 2014 Page 19

Therefore, many Muslim couples do not realise that a religious service that lacks civil formalities may mean that their marriage is invalid under English law. This will result in a lack of state protection and many women suffer when their only solution to marital issues is to go to a Sharia court, where traditional patriarchy often dominates and remedies are drastically different to English law.

Potential Resolutions

Therefore, should more be done to ensure that Sharia law provides a service which does not contradict British law and therefore treats women equally? Guidelines set by the Human Rights Committee make it the state’s duty to prevent discrimination caused by religious traditions from getting in the way of true equality. Educating the Sharia courts about English law could promote the importance of mediation in compliance with both legal systems. Greater regulation may also be needed to ensure equality and consistency in interpretations, to prevent dangerous discrimination and encourage greater transparency.

A change in the Arbitration Act to include a requirement of equal gender treatment in all arbitrations may also be useful. Whilst it is clearly important to maintain the alternative system of Islamic arbitration, the underlying value of equality before the law must be upheld at all times.

Grace Boorer is a 2nd year LLB Law student who is the post-graduate liaison officer for the Research for Change Forum. She attends Bar Society and debates as part of the Bristol Debating Union.

CANON LAW THE CHURCH THAT LIVED

What relevance does the Church of England have in today’s society?

by Eric Edward-Selvaraj

T

he Church of England had a rather curious beginning, having been founded by a king who had an insatiable appetite for, amongst other things, women.

But, as Henry VIII’s successors oscillated between upholding the new institution and persecuting its followers, the Church had a rocky start before permanently being integrated into the modern state. The recent Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 has once again cast the Church of England into the spotlight.

As those opposing the redefinition of marriage and those battling for equality continued their mudslinging amidst the catfight over the Act, unknown to them was a brewing constitutional stand-off between the Church and the State.

Since the Act of Supremacy of 1558, the Crown has had jurisdiction over all secular and ecclesiastical matters since Acts of Parliament take precedence over Church laws (known as ‘Measures’). This is important for two reasons. First, the Church along with its laws became a part of the State. And secondly, it hyped up religious scepticism and quickened modernisation. As a result, not only is Church law inseparable and mutually inclusive with the laws of England, but it also wallows in irrelevance.

As with any relationship, this system has been complicated over the years. In the case of Aston Cantlow [2003], the Human Rights Act 1998 forced the House of Lords to concede that the Church of England was not a ‘pure’ public authority for the purposes of Section 6. For some, it

was the perfect chance to finish off the lingering Church-State combination.

For others, it was an opportune time to retain the native law (inclusive of the Church) against some foreignerimposed intrusion that they perceived the ECHR to be. Sadly, the House of Lords decided to play the role of the middleman and gave the Church a ‘hybrid’ public-private status. The reasons why the House of Lords had given this status was, despite holding certain public functions as the established Church, the Church is essentially a religious organisation and not a governmental one. This means that even if the Church of England is not a ‘core’ public authority, it remains constitutionally bound to the English legal system.

In its objection to the Act, the Church argued that the statutory redefinition of marriage would breach Church law. This would create two different provisions – one statutory and one canon – for the institution of marriage. In other words, the statute would unravel centuries of legal protection that entwined the Church of England to the State.

The Church was unconvinced by assurances from the government that religious institutions would not be forced to allow same-sex marriages.

The Church’s fears were well founded since the ECHR would not have stood for any discrimination based on sexuality, as per Article 14. This would have imposed an obligation on all religious institutions to extend services to same-sex couples.

In reality though, the Government was acting to consolidate Dicta | 2014 Page 20

the position of Church law. Marriage as a concept exists in a variety of forms in England and Wales: English common law, Church of England law, and other religious laws. The Act explicitly states that its provisions will not apply to the Church of England. Even if the Church decided to solemnise same-sex marriages, the Church cannot legalise it because Church law is subject to Acts of Parliament – which has excluded the Church of England anyway. In other words, the solemnisation of gay marriage is legal everywhere in England and Wales, except in the Church of England.

At the moment, twenty-six bishops from the Church of England sit in the House of Lords. The mandate of the bishops is to represent the people’s interests (including all religions) independent of one’s political allegiance. The Pilling Report, published in 2013, contained a recommendation to let churches ‘bless’ same-sex civil partnerships – tactfully avoiding the marriage issue in doing so. However, whether one likes it or not, the Church of England has, and will remain, a part of the English legal system. Like many other traditions, it may be old and dying, but remains persistent.

Eric Edward-Selvaraj is a second-year LLB Law student and a member of the John Davis project. He has debated in the Hunt Cup and in an inter-varsity against Plymouth University. He hopes to pursue a career in Human Rights law.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN ENCROACHMENT UPON FUNDAMENTAL LIBERTIES

Is the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 reconcilable with traditional church values?

by Stephanie Lloyd

T

he fundamental liberties of the Church are being threatened by the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The Act has protected the liberty of sexual orientation, and consequently, forsaken religious liberties.

The Act received Royal Assent on 17 July 2013. When this new law takes effect in 2015, it will allow same-sex couples to marry in a church. Religious organisations were told to ‘opt-in,’ if they wanted to offer same-sex weddings. The Church of England and the Church in Wales, however, are excluded from doing so. This decision by Parliament to implement the Act does not force the Church to participate.

The Church must have the right to choose whether it can or cannot ‘opt-in’ in to the Act. It is not for Parliament to force the Church’s hand through an legislation.

The Act forces the Church’s hand because of the structure set up by Henry VIII in the sixteenth century, when he split from the Roman Catholic Church and created one King, one Church, and one State. The Queen is the head of the Church of England; she is also the head of State. Legally, the Church and the State are bound together under the figure of the monarch.

Whereas this system gives all the religious bodies in Britain the option to wed same-sex couples, the Church of England is not given the option. This is because the Church of England’s canon law is thoroughly intertwined with the common law of England.

The Church of England must be given a choice. For this to happen, canon law and legislation need to be reformed.

This reform has to allow the Church to be separate from the State so that the Church has the liberty to make its own decisions.

Section 2 of the Act states that a “person may not be compelled by any means to undertake” the opt-in choice. But, this is no guarantee that Churches will not be forced into solemnising relationships of which Churches strongly disapprove. The Government is offering Churches a proverbial carrot as it were. Under the ‘quadruple lock’ system, those churches that are willing to opt-in will be protected against lawsuits for discrimination and for breach of human rights. This raises an important question. Will churches be forced to accept the bill and perform gay marriages in order to avoid costly litigation?

The Government’s dictation of the terms upon which the Church can operate is difficult to justify. Because of the current structure, the Church’s independence is vulnerable.

The Act has highlighted the tensions that arise from competing interests for fundamental rights. On one side, the Church demands the fundamental right of freedom to religious expression and on the other, same-sex couples are seeking the right of freedom from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. As Britain is becoming an increasingly secular society, freedom from discrimination

“The Church of England must be given a choice.”

on the basis of sexual orientation is coming out on top. The social perspective is leaning towards equality rather than fundamental freedoms. But, this Act, whilst trying to gain equality is also losing it at the same time. Without providing the Church the ability to choose, its fundamental rights are not seen as equal to those of same-sex couples.

Religious liberties must hold the same status as the freedom of sexual orientation. The issue of same-sex marriage has focused on the rights of the gay community, but has ignored the rights of the Church. In relation to this, there are cases that have given samesex rights priority over religious freedoms. The case of Bull v. Hall (2012) is an example of how the rights of same-sex couples are ‘superior’ w i t h i n our perceived ‘hierarchy’ of rights. This is unjust. Even L.J. Rafferty recently stated, “it would be unfortunate to replace legal oppression of one community with the legal oppression of another.” The right to freedom of sexual orientation should be on an equal plane to that of religious liberties.

The Church is not in an enviable position. Its inextricable link with the State means that the Church’s current position is untenable. How can the Church operate when their views contravene the law? The Church and State for legal purposes are inseparable. For the sake of religious liberty, the Church has to be allowed to protect itself from relinquishing its moral values.

“How can the Church operate when their views contravene the law?”

Stephanie Lloyd graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Theology. She’s a first-year MA in Law student, and wishes to pursue a legal career as a barrister in England.

Dicta | 2014 Page 21

FEMALE JUDGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY GETTING RID OF THE ëPALE AND MALEí The what, why and how of feminism in the modern legal world

by Tian-Hui Tan

T

he ‘pale and male’ image of the judiciary still stands today in the 21st century – the hard truth is that the common perception of the judge as a white, Oxbridge-educated, man remains largely accurate. This article considers the current lack of female representation in the judiciary; followed by an examination of causes as to why female representation makes a difference; and finally, how female representation can be increased in our new legal world.

What – The Myth of Being Male

Judicial Office statistics are telling of the underrepresentation of women in judicial office. Just 8% of Court of Appeal judges and 23% of district judges are women.

In the Supreme Court, Baroness Hale remains as the only female judge alongside 11 other male Justices.

Multiple causes have been suggested to contribute to the phenomenon. Women may be dissuaded from applying because of their belief that the judicial office is still an ‘old boys club’ where they may feel excluded. Women who undertake the predominant caring role at home may also fear the difficulty of balancing work with the needs of their families. On the other hand, women tend not to be selected for the bench because they undertake work in certain specialised areas of the law (conveyancing, probate, matrimonial and family law), which renders them less visible to judges who are involved in judicial appointment.

Therefore women apply and are selected for judicial positions.

This perpetuates the default perception of the ‘male judge’, and the idea that judicial authority is associated with masculinity. Dworkin’s construction of the judge as ‘Hercules’ in his book, Law’s Empire, instantly comes to mind – why is it that we need a male character associated with domination, power and strength to undertake the challenging task of judicial decision making? And why the wearing of wigs, as Baroness Hale comments, that ‘humanises [female judges] all into men’? We need to deconstruct the social perception of the ‘male judge’.

However, as long as it persists, women may lack a ‘role model’ to look up to in determining their career paths, and fear challenging themselves to go further in their career.

Why – ‘Haply a woman’s voice may do some good’?

Why, then, should we be bothered by the lack of female representation in the judiciary? Common arguments for diversity include the argument from democratic legitimacy. Since the judiciary is a political institution, it should be reflective of the diverse population it represents, in order that it has social accountability.

Also, it is an important means of securing public confidence. Since public confidence and trust in the judiciary is crucial to its functioning, they must not be seen as being out of touch or remote. Enhancing public

confidence in the judiciary will ensure that their decisions are respected and enforced.

However, other than securing democratic legitimacy and public confidence, increasing female representation is likely to have a substantive impact on judicial decision-making. Judicial decision-making is not always a straight-forward application of principles. There are cases that require discretion – and in such cases, ‘it is a matter of personal choice, dictated by [the judge’s] background, upbringing, education, convictions and temperament’ (per Lord Mustill, Airedale NHS Trust v Bland). In such cases, who the judge is matters, because reasoning is no longer a purely objective matter. Because men and women think differently, they make different contributions to reasoning.

In the context of judicial decision-making, Carol Gilligan has identified the different approaches that men and women adopt in relation to issues of justice. She found that women tended to reason from an ‘ethic of care’, associated with relationships, connection and context, as opposed to men who reason from an ‘ethic of justice’, which is an approach that prioritises rights, hierarchy, and autonomy. Having more women in the judiciary will contribute to a different way of decision-making – instead of adversarial disputes, women may favour a different approach that prioritises collaboration and consensus. For instance, the case Radmacher v Granatino, which concerned the issue of whether a pre-nuptial agreement to which the husband had agreed without receiving independent legal advice, demonstrates the classic divide between ‘ethic of care’ and ‘ethic of justice’.

While the majority of the Supreme Court (comprising eight male judges) held that the agreement should be upheld out of respect for individual autonomy, Baroness Hale considered the question from a relational perspective, and viewed marriage as a status with an ‘irreducible minimum’ that should not be contracted out of.

Furthermore, the experiences of females are unique, and they may be better able to relate to issues such as pregnancy and childbirth, fear of violence and sexual assault. For instance, Rackley argues that in the Supreme

“Thus, difference makes a difference: an increase in female representation will make a difference to the court’s reasoning process, and will also enhance the Court’s understanding of harms and experiences that are particular to women.”

Dicta | 2014 Page 22

Court’s decision in Fornah (FC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, it was evident that Baroness Hale recognised the nature of female genital mutilation (FGM) as a gendered harm at its outset. In deciding in favour of the appellant Fornah, that she could claim asylum for she had “membership of a particular group” under Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Baroness Hale held that this was because FGM was common to ‘all women in Sierra Leone’, which therefore constituted a social group. The recognition that FGM was a harm that affected women in particular was a key factor in determining the Court’s decision.

Thus, difference makes a difference: An increase in female representation will make a difference to the court’s reasoning process, and will also enhance the Court’s understanding of harms and experiences that are particular to women.

stage of training, the problem is retention, as many women leave the profession before they reach sufficient seniority to be considered for judicial appointment. Thus, means must be devised to ensure that there are fair parental leave and flexible-working policies will keep women in the profession.

Additionally, organisations such as the UK Association of Women Judges have the potential to play a key role in enhancing the understanding and resolution of legal issues facing women, and by identifying key obstacles that prevent women from applying for judicial office.

The greatest change starts with women – and an increase in female participation can be attained by changing our attitudes towards gender stereotypes of the default image of the male barrister and judge. Women tend to underestimate themselves, and should be encouraged to challenge artificial boundaries and gender constructs. Real change can only be achieved by a change in culture and attitudes – such change cannot be attained overnight, but can nevertheless be achieved if women dare to step out of their comfort zones, and to join the ‘old boys’ club’ that has traditionally been hostile to women.

Tian-Hui Tan is a third year LLB student with a particular interest in feminist jurisprudence. I aspire to be a law academic in future.

“Because men and women think differently, they make different contributions to reasoning.”

How – Getting Women On The Bench

Increasing support for women is key to encouraging women to join the judicial office. Ruth Deech argues that the key to change lies with the introduction of ABS that will allow women to balance work and family life.

Although women equal or outnumber men at the vocational

Dicta | 2014 Page 23

FEMALE FLIGHT THE LACK OF FEMALE PARTNERS IN UK LAW FIRMS Gender Bias and the glass ceiling in the commercial law firm

by Julianne Cirenza

O

n 18 December 1922, Carrie Morrison became the first female solicitor to be admitted to the British legal profession. Nearly 100 years later, women only make up 9.4% of equity partners at UK law firms.

While there has been a general trend of increasing diversity in legal careers in England and Wales, it seems that this trend has slowed significantly when it comes to women. The assumption that all lawyers can progress according to their individual merit does not appear to apply to women seeking to reach equity partnership. With equal numbers of women and men entering the legal profession, the question remains: why are there so few female partners?

A report by the Women’s Business Counsel (2013) reveals that the “overwhelmingly masculine, patriarchal corporate culture,” the “anytime, anywhere” model of management, and long working hours make it difficult for women to balance domestic and work responsibilities.

Many women choose to leave the legal profession to start a family, finding it near impossible to balance the competing responsibilities of family and work. A survey of 800 female solicitors conducted by King’s College London together with the Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) revealed that approximately 41% of these female solicitors were working more than 48 hours a week. While women might seek more flexible working arrangements, many firms offer full-time work or nothing. Even if firms offer part-time or flexible hours, this may not improve female retention rates. Women have found that there is often no route to partnership if they work part-time, and 44% surveyed by King’s College London and AWS believe such flexible working arrangements have a negative impact on their promotion prospects; that those who opt for flexible work are perceived as less serious about their careers.

Long working hours are unfortunately not the only barrier standing between women and their ability to make partner. According to the Legal Services Board (LSB), “the

profession is segmented and stratified on gendered...lines, suggesting that the opportunities available to young lawyers are not equally distributed.”

Both formal and informal barriers exist. For instance, informal mentoring presents a great disadvantage to young women at law firms. Informal mentoring arises organically when senior figures seek out young lawyers, helping them to advance their careers and, in doing so, providing a fast track to promotions. The disadvantage to women arises in that, as the LSB found, “powerful senior figures (generally

rates of female partners. One area in which firms could do so is by offering formal mentorship that specifically counters the often-detrimental effects of informal mentoring for women. By doing so, law firms can ensure that young female lawyers are receiving the same career development as men, and so are equally positioned and recognised when it comes to promotions. Another area that could use improvement would be to encourage flexible working hours for both women and men, while ensuring transparent promotion procedures.

If law firms truly wish to increase their numbers of female equity partners, then flexible or part-time work should not rule out women for promotions. Finally, leadership on diversity must come from the top. Providing diversitytraining programmes can only achieve so much; if law firms wish to create a more hospitable culture for female lawyers, current senior partners are best placed to facilitate this change and encourage progress towards a new legal world for women.

“The question remains: why are there so few female partners? Law firms are not unaware of these issues facing women.” white men) ten[d] to foster careers of young white men.” It is natural for mentors to select mentees who are similar to them; therefore, it follows that senior male partners would opt to mentor young men, reproducing a selfperpetuating cycle that disadvantages young female lawyers from the start.

L a w firms are not unaware of these issues facing women.

Many have sought to establish diversity partners or officers, and focus on diversity work placements and law student mentoring schemes. However, such initiatives have primarily been confined to large commercial firms and fail to address the dominant masculine culture that prevails at these firms, including the need for open-ended availability. Therefore, it is important to consider additional methods that might help increase retention Dicta | 2014 Page 24

Julianne Cirenza studied sociology and ethics at Stanford University, and has lived on three continents. While enjoying her first year as an MA in Law student, Julianne is an articles editor for the Bristol Law Review, and aspires to be a commercial solicitor.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE TOP AN INTERVIEW WITH LORD NEUBERGER, PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT One of the UK’s most senior judges reveals all about life at the Supreme Court, the current challenges facing the legal industry, and exactly what it takes to become an outstanding legal professional.

Interviewed by Spencer Turner and Jonathan Margetts. Written by Jonathan Margetts.

A

fter taking the Circle Line to Westminster Station, and battling through swarms of tourists staring precariously at dim iPhones and unfolded maps, you are met with the sight of Parliament Square. The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and numerous statues line its four corners: Churchill, Disraeli, Peel, Lloyd George and Nelson Mandela among others.

To the west of the square stands an equally imposing structure. Finished in 1913, the Middlesex Guildhall is designed in an ‘art nouveau gothic’ style, and is sparingly decorated with medieval gargoyles and other assorted creatures. Otherwise known as the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Guildhall is certainly no less prestigious than its neighbouring buildings.

Yet, inside one is welcomed

not by archaic garlands or myriad stone variations upon Lady Justice, but by polished floors and a smart walkthrough metal-detector. Past these details lies a sign directing visitors to a recently built café and exhibition area. The overall feeling is not dissimilar to the legal profession.

Steeped in traditional garb on the outside, a cursory glance inside reveals a world in flux, incessantly attempting to keep up with everything around it. David Neuberger, Baron of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court, believes the situation is in ways changing for the worse.

“What I do not like about the way the whole profession is going, is that it is perhaps becoming too much focused on hourly rates and making money in a way which is neither productive or efficient. There are two legal systems here or two groups of Dicta | 2014 Page 25

professionals - and I am not talking about barristers and solicitors - I am talking about the privately paid and the publicly funded. They are two different worlds.” He points out that a reasonably successful private lawyer, privately funded doing commercial work will probably get paid an hour what a publicly-funded lawyer gets paid a day.

“It is an enormous gap. The whole ethos is different. My worry is that the payment levels will fall so low that with the best will in the world you would have almost to be a saint or extremely rich personally to be able to make the sacrifice. My worry is that standards will start to suffer.”

Neuberger voices a fight that barristers around the country have desperately attempted to support.

Planned cuts to Legal Aid by 30% might arguably neuter the criminal bar,

and have culminated in a nationwide walkout by barristers in protest. He believes that “the more rates go down, the more of a risk there is” of a serious problem occurring.

“Crime may not be the most highly paid or, in some ways, the most prestigious part of the Bar and of being a solicitor, but in terms of the national interest and the world of law, there certainly is not a more important area than crime. It is something we should be concerned about.” On top of that, he suggests that aspiring barristers can expect a different world than the one he experienced when entering the profession. “In those days it was a different world from now. Pupillages were not funded. It was for people who either had private money or were prepared to work all sorts of ridiculous hours to earn the money. But the advantage was that there were many more pupillages. Chambers were quite happy to take on large numbers of pupils because it gave them more choice and they did not have to pay them. The pupillage world has since shrunk which is very unfortunate.”

Lord Neuberger’s own entry into the Bar can only be described as slightly less than conventional. He initially chose to study chemistry over classics at Oxford, but soon discovered he wasn’t “really a very good scientist, in fact a very bad one”. The University therefore advised him to pursue a career either in the City or in law.

“In those days the City did not involve any exams, the law did. I thought I have had enough exams so I went to the City. After two years I realised if I was a bad chemist, I was a worse banker! If I had stayed there the banking crisis would have come even earlier!”

“I was walking home one day feeling a bit unhappy with life because when you are around 25, you start to feel if you have had two unsuccessful go’s it feel terribly old and failing. Looking back at on it, I looked terribly young but it is all a question of perspective.” He met with an old university friend to have a drink before having “one of those moments” and deciding the Bar was exactly what he wanted to do, though it wasn’t easy getting into chambers. “I had quite a difficult time. I did three pupillages.

At the end of each of them they took on somebody rather than me. My

fourth pupillage was make or break and I ended up in Chambers which were less prestigious than those I had hoped to join. But it actually suited me very, very well. I did not want to go to that set, I did not want to specialise in property law; I wanted to specialise in, sort of, grander Chancery work or Commercial work. You never know what twists and turns in life turn out to be for the better rather than the worse, although they appear to be for the worse at the time.”

It took Neuberger a mere thirteen years to rise to the position of QC; can current students expect a similar rise to success? The law profession as a whole seems to be fraught with issues. For example, the 2013 Diversity League Table has recently shown that only 0.6% of black solicitors are partners at firms.

The average percentage of all black and minority ethnic partners in firms is a meagre 5.1%. Needless to say, this might be regarded as a massive hindrance for those from minority backgrounds.

“I think the problem in the legal profession reflects society.

Having said that, I think the legal professions has a duty to do its best to increase the proportion of people who come from a poor background, and I think we have a duty, whether we are judges, barristers, solicitors or legal executives, to encourage those who are disadvantaged and are under-represented to come into the profession. Those are words that easy to say. Achieving it is more difficult.”

Neuberger describes it as regretful that Brenda Hale, Baroness of Richmond, is the only woman judge in the Supreme Court, and that despite the prevalence of women inside the profession increasing upon standards set forty years ago, there’s still some way to go. Both Neuberger and Hale support a tie-breaker approach to improving diversity.

“I think it is not a controversial idea.

Some people do not agree with it, but I think that if you have two equal candidates then clearly the person who will increase the court’s diversity is the better candidate. The difficulty comes when asking what is meant by equal.

Some people might say you never have two people who are completely equal; you can always work out who is better.

Others – and I would be one of them Dicta | 2014 Page 26

– say that you cannot be too precise about who is going to better. So you do sometimes have people who are equals and then I am in favour of the tie-breakers.”

To be one of the best barristers, Neuberger recommends honing the ability to summarise complicated and factual legal problems in an elegant and clear way, and to not waste time with bad points. On top of that, honesty is essential. He warns that people get and lose reputations very quickly in the profession. An aspiring barrister also needs intelligence, discrimination, realism and the ability to express yourself reasonably well.

However, he suggests that sometimes a slightly hesitant, diffident approach works quite well.

“Quite a lot of barristers, who a lay person looking at them might think are pretty unimpressive and tentative, are very effective. In front of the Supreme Court, you do not necessarily want to bang the table and shout.” One almost gets the feeling that because Lord Neuberger hears from the best barristers day to day, he must have heard all the best arguments before. Is there anything that hasn’t impressed him yet with it’s novelty? He exclaims that this simply isn’t the case.

“Even when you get a point of law that you think you know about, you sometimes get an ingenious barrister who passes a comment on me, or who raises a point you have not thought of, or a way of looking at things you have not looked at. It is part of the fun. I am very lucky in that sense to have a job that has that feature.”

In his position as President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger can expect to see arguments ranging Criminal, Family, Commercial, and since the passing of the Human Rights Act 1998, a lot of Public Law cases. This doesn’t mean that the Court is a formal constitutional court.

Rather, Neuberger sees it as the “tiny, thin, little crust on top of the three enormous loaves of bread that are the English and Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish systems”. From these jurisdictions, the Supreme Court takes on cases which are of real public importance. Neuberger recognises the “corporate identity” the Supreme Court might have, though does not regard himself as a chairman in charge of telling his colleagues what to do.

“There are cases where sometimes I am in the minority; the majority do not agree with me. I am not trying to project myself further than is necessary ahead of my colleagues.

I think of myself as more leading by example.” Indeed, he found himself in the majority on the recent, well publicised case of Bull v Hall. Here, it was held that the Christian owners of a hotel unlawfully discriminated against a same-sex couple by refusing to admit them. Neuberger stated that “something has to give” when you are faced with two equally respectable, conflicting rights.

“Just as much as the Christian lobby can say that their rights have been overborne, so if we had gone the other way could the gay lobby say that their rights had been overborne. There are occasions, and one does one’s best, both I am sure in Parliament and in the courts, to find a compromise that accommodates both groups. There are occasions, such as that, whether either you have to say, the Christian couple were right to say that the gay couple could not come and sleep there, or the gay couple were right to say they had a

right to sleep there.”

But, despite providing such balanced analysis on Bull, Neuberger admits that not all his answers are quite as astute when asked what he would see himself doing is he wasn’t the President of the Supreme Court.

“My very weedy answer is that if I was not President, I would probably still be Master of the Rolls! It was a job I loved, and I found it quite difficult to decide whether to apply for this job.

Although it was a wonderful job, I decided to apply for the position of President because I had not got my own domain. Here, albeit because it is smaller, it is its own and the most prestigious court in the country. I am ultimately responsible.”

“In life, I find on the whole you regret more for what you do not do than what you do. It is better to try something, and I felt that, looking back, it would be lovely to think I had had all these different jobs. So far it has been right. There is a point where you just have to hold your nose and jump.”

Such advice might hit a note with students unsure whether to pursue a career at the bar, in a city

Dicta | 2014 Page 27

firm, or even in the legal industry as a whole. A new brand of legal world is beginning to emerge. Pupillages are becoming more difficult to win, and the industry is steadily becoming more commercialized. Yet substantial steps are being taken to increase diversity by influential figureheads, and barristers are showing initiative in taking a stand for the public good. Any aspiring practitioner must be prepared to adapt.

As Lord Neuberger demonstrates with his past experiences in chemistry, banking, and failed attempts to get into chambers, the right mixture of selfbelief and determination is absolutely necessary to succeed.

Jon Margetts is a first year M.A student and a Senior Editor for Dicta. He has an interest in pursuing a career in the law after university. He graduated from the University of De Montford with a degree in Journalism and Creative Writing.

TRAINEE PROFILE DOMINIC KERR

My first experience with Macfarlanes occurred at the Summer Drinks Reception which the firm hosts each year at the Avon Gorge Hotel in Bristol. This is a favourite event of Bristol law students for good reason: it’s less of a networking event than it is an opportunity to celebrate finishing exams with friends, while enjoying a complimentary barbeque and a few drinks on the terrace overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I was struck by how friendly and unassuming all of the trainees and partners that I spoke to were and decided to apply to the firm for a training contract.

DOMINIC KERR BRISTOL, LAW (GRADUATED 2013) LPC STUDENT STARTS TRAINING CONTRACT MARCH 2015

Other aspects of Macfarlanes also appealed to me. The work is of the highest quality and the firm has an impressive reputation for training that is second to none. Its size was also attractive: each intake of trainees is large enough to incorporate a range of personalities yet not feel impersonal. I found its international strategy convincing and was intrigued by the prospect of working in one of the only private client departments at a major City firm.

Having been fortunate enough to be offered a training contract by Macfarlanes, I moved to London after graduating to study the Macfarlanes LPC at BPP Holborn. During the first half of the LPC you study the core modules in classes with students from a range of city firms, before being taught the electives alongside other future Macfarlanes

www.macfarlanes.com Dicta | 2014 Page 28

trainees in the second half. These electives are specially selected and tailored to ensure that they are relevant to the firm’s main practice areas. You also study two business modules alongside the electives and have the option to complete a MA should you wish, thereby ensuring that you are well prepared to work at the firm.

Macfarlanes organises regular seminars at the firm during the LPC for its future trainees.

Each seminar gives an overview of a different practice area and is usually a case study on a recent transaction or piece of work that the firm has been involved in. For example, the Litigation seminar focused on Macfarlanes’ work as legal advisers to an independent commission set up by the UCI to investigate doping in cycling following the Lance Armstrong scandal, while the Real Estate talk focused on the sale of the BBC Television Centre. These seminars are very informative and are designed to help you decide which practice areas you are most interested in.

Future trainees can also apply for a bursary to help finance any worthwhile ventures planned before joining the firm. These can range from language courses to voluntary work overseas.

I am currently learning Spanish thanks to the scheme and am hoping that this course, combined with eight months travel in Latin America, will enable me to speak Spanish to a good conversational level by the time I start my training contract in March 2015.

EXPANDING GLOBAL REACH MERGERS, ORGANIC GROWTH & BEST FRIEND RELATIONSHIPS What mechanisms do law firms use to grow internationally?

T

here is nothing new about law firm mergers. However, recent years have seen an unprecedented number of crosscontinental mergers. Prominent UK-based firms have merged with firms that have a strong standing in the US, Australia and Asia-Pacific.

This presents an exciting change to the legal landscape. By examining the reasons behind the mergers, the different models of merger available and alternative strategies, we can gain insights into the possible impact on the legal landscape.

When speaking of the reasons for merging, most law firms mention

by Calvin Yang

the need to ‘provide integrated services to clients’ and to ‘become a truly global firm’. DLA Piper, which clinched the top spot in world revenue rankings through successive mergers, expressed its strategy as striving to achieve seamless coordination between multiple jurisdictions. A head of practice in Herbert Smith Freehills was more enterprising in his explanation, declaring that over the next few years, the market for premium legal services will become increasingly dominated by a small number of truly global firms.

It is fair to say that the UK market for legal services is already

Dicta | 2014 Page 29

saturated and the competition is tough. In order to expand, law firms increasingly look towards emerging markets. DLA Piper’s Asia Pacific Managing Director predicted that the Asia Pacific region is expected to continue to be dominant, and noted that G20 nations like Australia with strong links to the Chinese market are of particular importance. SJ Berwin King & Wood Mallesons (soon to be only King & Wood Mallesons), in explaining its 2013 merger decision, quoted faster growth in Australia, Middle East and Asia Pacific compared to Europe. M&A activity in China and outbound investments from China are

increasing at an incredible rate.

There are also an increasing number of Chinese companies acquiring targets in Europe, with the UK as the medium. Herbert Smith chose to merge in 2012 with Freehills, an Australian ‘Big Six’ firm.

Australia is an important region for international firms, not only because of its relatively high economic growth, but also because it is the number one target for Chinese investment. The US also remains attractive – Norton Rose merged with US-based Fulbright & Jaworski in 2013 and Lovells in 2010 also matched up with US firm Hogan & Hartson, which is also set up in South America.

However, many firms are expanding internationally without having to resort to mergers. It is necessary to examine the alternatives to merger and the different models of merger to understand how effective mergers are in achieving those objectives.

T w o alternatives to merger are organic growth and the establishment of ‘best friends’ relationships.

They are distinct strategies but not necessarily mutually exclusive. Organic growth in the context of law firms is growth through an increase in revenue from client work. Profit and growth from acquisitions or mergers are disregarded. Most Magic Circle firms have operated very well under this model and expanded overseas purely by the demand for their legal services. There are advantages to this approach: the firm operates as a single entity and coordination between different offices is generally more ‘seamless’ than merged firms. Firms dependent on organic growth also do not have to face problems that are often encountered in mergers, such as cultural clashes. Not all members of a firm welcome the idea of a merger.

Herbert Smith Freehills was hit with a few high-profile exits from its disputes practice after its merger decision was announced.

However, mergers do have

their advantages over pure organic growth. To build up an international presence from a standing point is often too slow and too expensive. A former Clifford Chance partner explained that US firms are keen on merging with UK-based firms because doing so can help them achieve a greater scale and geographic coverage quickly and relatively cheaply. The London Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells lamented the immense difficulty with both investment and culture in expanding organically. Indeed, it would be much easier to combine with a firm that has already established a strong client base and relationships, and is familiar with the culture of a location. However, is it really worth sacrificing a firm’s identity, and in the case of SJ Berwin, losing its name entirely?

Establishing ‘best friends’ relationships with an established firm in another location is an alternative, offering the firm the ability to preserve its identity while at the same time make use of the resources of another firm. Slaughter and May and Travers Smith are two prominent firms using this approach. They are able to access new markets and secure new clients without paying set-up costs or building up a presence from scratch.

This may allow firms to get the best of both worlds. However, one may still argue that the cooperation between partner firms will not be able to offer integrated services to clients as well as a merged firm.

There are two models of merger: Swiss Verein and full financial integration. Despite sounding like a piece of patisserie, Swiss Verein is the formidable international management structure behind the breakneck expansion of the world’s two largest firms, DLA Piper and Baker & McKenzie. Firms that use this structure retain their own profits, management, remuneration and accounting system, with the additional advantage of being under a single global brand. It has also been adopted

“Is it really worth sacrificing a firm’s identity, and in the case of Saj Berwin, losing its name entirely?”

Dicta | 2014 Page 30

by Norton Rose Fulbright, SJ Berwin King & Wood Mallesons and Hogan Lovells. Conversely, a full financial integration will, as the name suggests, involve the merger of profits. Herbert Smith Freehills is one of the few cases of full financial merger.

Critics of Swiss Verein have argued that the resultant firm is in reality separate entities under the same name. An important of the Swiss Verein structure is that it enables the firm to avoid cultural clashes. It may also be advantageous to keep profits in different regions separate as each region’s profitability differs. US firms generally have a much higher profitability than firms in other regions. A full financial merger may offer better-integrated services but cultural conflicts and incompatibility have to be dealt with.

So, how does this analysis of the benefits and possible detriments of mergers relate to their impacts on the legal landscape? In commercial law, one major aspect of the legal scene is the capabilities and market shares of the elite firms. Modern mergers have undoubtedly created many new behemoths that have arms in practically every jurisdiction where a client might want legal services. Will these new giants dominate the market for commercial legal advices and render the traditional Magic Circle no more?

In essence, it depends on how well mergers fare compared to organic growth and ‘best friends’ relationships.

A recent article in The Lawyer predicted that the term Magic Circle would become obsolete by 2018 due to huge transformations of international law firms through mergers. It remains to be seen whether this prediction would prove to be accurate. The prospects look promising.

Calvin Yang is a second-year LLB student, Treasurer of the UBLC, Campus Brand Manager of DLA Piper, and an aspiring solicitor.

WHEN TWO BECOME ONE WHY DO LAW FIRMS CHOOSE TO MERGE? Multiple factors that contribute to the amalgamation of firms

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by Evelyn Ioannou

he global financial crisis, the economic, cultural and political integration and the perpetual advancement of technology and blazing fast communications, constitute the pivotal features of the contemporary, liberal market, in which law firms are called to operate and compete. The modus operandi of modern law firms, whether regional or international, is determined not only by the internal needs of the corporations themselves but also by external economic events. Within this framework, mergers have become a common business strategy and a profitable mechanism. It would not be an exaggeration to talk about a merger ‘mania’ that has overtaken the legal sector, in an attempt to achieve economies of scale, geographical expansion; attract investors and clients. Why do law firms merge, and what does a merger mean for the constituencies of the firm, their competitors and the market in general? In plain words, a merger occurs when two separate undertakings form an entirely new entity. Before the international bankruptcy of 2007, mergers provided a means of market re-structuring, in all sectors. Mergers can achieve economies of scale and scope; improve access to equity capital; encourage entrepreneurial investment; increase market power; enhance skills management; grant a competitive advantage.

Although the legal sector has not been immune from the international financial crisis, it can be argued that law firms have managed to resist pressure and remain active in the market. Despite the obvious decline in transactions, which attenuated several practice areas such as real estate; other areas such as commercial and corporate, remained prevalent.

Client demand is one of the central reasons firms merge with one another; by reason of technological advancement and the current economic hardship, clients demand greater expertise, more effective advice and at the same time lower charges. Client satisfaction and

long-term client relationships lie at the heart of most law firms’ organisational and operational structure. Therefore mergers are regarded as a convenient method to serve not only the clients’ interests but accrue additional benefits.

Lawyers at Burges Salmon, for example, are supported from a Client Relationship Management (CRM) team, in terms of commercial insight into the clients’ business and internal co-operation. Nevertheless, sometimes a merger can be nothing more than a ‘civilised’ bailout.

Statistics have shown that in most cases, mergers are successful and lead to a diversification of services and practice areas. Increased depth of legal expertise and capabilities can place the firm in a better position to compete and enable it to ‘internationalise’ its client basis. Cross-selling, immediate geographical expansion, acknowledged presence and development opportunities is what incentivises law firm mergers. They gain access to new markets, added value and resources, and acquire a better know how of other companies’ practices and ethos.

A merger can change dramatically the whole culture of a firm and as a consequence transform and reshape the legal landscape. It could be said that modern law firm mergers posed a challenge to the existing boundaries in law firm activity, and the status quo of the legal market.

This process – the so-called industry ‘consolidation’ – undoubtedly leads to a decline in the number of firms; in a more robust language it leads to further fragmentation of the market. On the one hand it could be stated that mergers lessen the degree of competition among firms, but on the other hand increase competition among those wishing to enter the market. Does the extensive merger activity in the legal sector, constitute the precursor of an emerging new market of mega-firms?

For current trainees and graduates entering the competitive market, law firms’ mergers are of paramount importance. From one perspective, young lawyers are given greater scope to work in multiple practice areas, in different locations. This however implies a corresponding alteration in the nature of skills required by recruiters and the scope of information the ‘new players’ are required to posses. Language skills can give trainees advantage and early exposure to international work, which can only be beneficial in terms of skills development and experience.

Commercial and political awareness, as well as, cultural sensitivity are highly valued since they demonstrate not only a genuine interest in the relevant area of practice but an ability to operate efficiently in the global market.

Competition is fiercer than ever and is further accentuated by the liberalisation of the legal market, especially since the enactment of the Legal Services Act 2007 which has enabled non-lawyers to enter law firms as stakeholders and investors and has placed law firms in competition with non-legal organisations. Law firms so far, have been the keen protagonists in the legal market;

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gradually they are being transformed into the so-called ‘Alternative Business Structures’ (ABSs). In addition it seems that the new legal landscape will hardly be dominated by the duopoly of solicitors and barristers, as the main actors on the legal scene.

Although it has been evident that mergers result in market power increase for law firms, placing them on a better platform to compete and at the same time to meet the global demands of both the clients and the market itself, it would not be irrational to argue that the genesis of legal colossuses may prove to be detrimental in terms of fair wealth distribution. It could lead to the establishment of a legal market of anti-competitive monopolies, driven by individual greed that forecloses competitors and restricts input and innovation.

Mergers constitutes a leading practice in the legal sector; statistics have shown that 83% of the top law firms consider the possibility of a merger; statistics also show that since a merger has been concluded, the equity share per partner has increased. The legal press is overwhelmed with potential mergers discussions among well- known firms.

The current hectic merging activity has opened a new path towards a new legal world that can engender prospects and growth but – if regarded as an end rather than a means to and end - it can distort competition and render the market dysfunctional. The local market may be relegated by reason of an emphasis on international work and as a consequence commercial needs of private individuals may be skimped; undue focus on size can expunge the importance of substance and expertise. Such an attitude may generate a

detrimental downfall in the qualifications of practitioners and consequently the quality of services provided. Efficient organization and co-ordination of ABSs and mega-firms can be difficult, even impossible, and finally unconscious loss of independence of firms comprises a dangerous side-effect of merging activity. What if in the long-term what started as a means to increase power and choice, ends up being a fragmentation process; a strategy that satisfies individual greed and throws the youth in an ocean of unemployment – since the market will increasingly shrivel? As the success of Slaughter & May and Travers Smith shows, bigger does not necessarily mean better and the idea of independence remains luring, at least for some firms who tend to decline such offers.

The relationship between mergers and the legal market is bidirectional. It could be said that mergers are the result of the workings of the market and at the same time, they can re-structure and transform it. They can significantly alter the culture of a firm, expand its boundaries and consequently foster interconnection, penetration and expansion; they have a huge impact upon the constituencies of the firm – employers, employees, shareholders – as well as external actors such as the government. They constitute a means of continuous change and alteration of the legal scene and those acting upon it.

Evelyn Ioannou is studying for an LLM in Commercial Law. She holds an LLB from the University of Southampton.

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EMERGING LEGAL MARKETS OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES

Devloping a global mindset as law firms are expanding into emerging markets abroad.

by Chengrui Chau and Samuel Tay

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arious definitions of ‘emerging markets’ have sprouted over the years. For example, the Centre for Knowledge Societies defined emerging markets as those ‘regions of the world that are experiencing rapid informalization under conditions of limited or partial industrialization’.

A common thread within these definitions is they highlight the growth potential of emerging markets coupled with the higher risks associated with operating in such economies.

The famous ‘BRIC’ countries, coined by former Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairman Jim O’Neill, are established examples of emerging markets. Recently, O’Neill came up with a new group, the ‘MINT’ countries, consisting of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.

These countries experienced GDP growth rates that outpaced developed countries. They represent the creation of a new middle class and spurred vast business opportunities by extension.

In fact, MINT economies have kept pace with BRIC countries over the past 4 years and are projected to grow even more rapidly over the next 20 years.

Rise of International Arbitration

What kind of legal work can one expect in these emerging markets?

First, to gain an understanding into the various kinds of legal work in emerging markets, it is important to note that much of the growth in emerging economies such as India and Turkey comprise foreign direct investments (FDI). With the effects of the economic downturn still lingering, many commercial law firms are seeking to expand into these emerging markets that are laden with potential. Although firms are unable to advise on local law due to regulatory restrictions, they can oversee the international aspects of transactions.

Hence, cross-border deals, both inbound and outbound in nature, are becoming more commonplace as these economies globalize.

One development is the rise of international arbitration as a preferred

dispute resolution mechanism.

International transactions inevitably lead to commercial disputes that have to be resolved in an international setting. However, the inefficiencies (for example, India has a backlog of close to 30 million cases) and lack of transparency of emerging market judiciaries renders litigation an unattractive solution. It is almost axiomatic that companies do not want their assets tied down and would prefer speedier forms of dispute resolution.

In addition to the speed of resolution, international arbitration also provides many other advantages such as procedural flexibility, lower costs, arbitrator neutrality, and consistent enforceability of remedies.

With the expected rise of FDI in these budding markets, one can only expect a rise in the need for arbitration. Furthermore, the success of international arbitration has led to the development of international commercial courts. For example, Singapore, ranked 4th globally in a survey by White & Case for the most preferred arbitration destination, recently announced her plans to launch the Singapore International Commercial Court.

The Lawyer’s Role: Pre-emption

The increased opportunities for companies to tap into emerging markets also comes with its own unique set of challenges. Being both business and legal advisors to these companies, it is often the responsibility of lawyers to ensure that their clients are able to maximize these opportunities whilst simultaneously managing the accompanying risks.

The main challenge law firms face in emerging markets is to effectively manage and mitigate the increased risk encountered by clients operating or looking to operate in emerging markets. The stereotypical emerging economy is a risky place to conduct business due to the lack of wellestablished infrastructure. Therefore, it is likely to have poor intellectual property protection, complex

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government red-tape, and in some locales, rampant corruption. A recent study conducted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer found that almost one third of M&A deals in emerging markets are stonewalled by issues ranging from regulatory investigations and government opposition to stakeholder litigation and management objections. This shows the importance of ‘thinking through the likely issues, and putting in place effective and resilient risk mitigation solutions’ according to Freshfields corporate lawyer Stephen Revell.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty in this aspect is that law firms cannot merely provide reactive solutions.

Rather, they have to anticipate such problems in advance so as to ensure that clients are able to achieve their goals in the most cost-efficient manner.

After all, as Revell puts it, ‘no deal team wants to deliver the message to the board that its big emerging market investment has hit an unexpected and significant obstacle.’

Another development law firms in the UK face is the increased focus on regulatory authorities on issues like bribery and corruption through the Bribery Act. With greater expansion into emerging economies, domestic clients are facing greater scrutiny by the Serious Fraud Office and the City of London police UK for their overseas exploits. Thus, there is a greater need for law firms to ensure that their clients comply with regulatory requirements both domestically and overseas. The increased scrutiny also extends to that carried out by enforcement agencies of the emerging countries. For example, the government of the People’s Republic of China recently launched a milestone investigation into GlaxoSmithKline that has allegedly uncovered bribery involving millions of US dollars. It is in this arena where law firms will face the far harder task of negotiating the legal culture of such countries in order to ensure that their clients’ global compliance policies are localized effectively.

Significance for the Future Lawyer

As a result of growing commercial opportunities in emerging markets, law students interested in a career in commercial law will need to develop an international outlook and expertise. In the future, one cannot be content with just qualifying domestically. In fact, many law schools have begun to offer dual degrees in law that will allow one to qualify in two different jurisdictions. There will be greater demand for lawyers who are able to operate not only in traditional common law jurisdictions but who are also familiar with emerging market jurisdictions.

In addition, being able to speak the de facto language of the emerging market one is working in will be a major advantage. After all, it is much easier for business to be done without language barriers. Law firms have begun to recognize this and have offered language classes to their lawyers. For example, King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin has started offering Chinese lessons to its lawyers in order for them to work better with their Chinese counterparts and clients.

The future of commercial law is very much one without borders. Western commercial law firms will need to continue evolving their strategies to cater towards the rising numbers of multinational corporations seeking to stake a claim in emerging markets. It is imperative that prospective corporate lawyers begin preparing themselves for the increase in emerging market work that is just round the corner.

Chengrui Chua is a second year LLB Law student. He aspires to join the Attorney General Chambers in Singapore after graduation. He is also a member of the Bar Society in University of Bristol.

Samuel Tay is a second-year LLB Law student who has an interest in emerging markets work. Besides law, he enjoys playing for the UBLC men’s football team. ￟

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MA SECOND YEAR SHARINGS: BRISTOL GRADUATES SHARE THEIR PROFESSIONAL PLANS & REFLECTIONS

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Helena Zaba fter graduation, I am aiming to become a solicitor at a commercial firm. I started studying for the MA with this in mind, and my academic, extra-curricular and professional experiences over the last eighteen months have confirmed this aim for me.

I decided to convert to law after having worked for a consultancy in the charity sector for a few years.

Although I really enjoyed building relationships with my clients and helping their projects to succeed, I found myself wanting to do something that involved more of an intellectual challenge at work. So far my law degree has definitely provided that!

One thing I really like about the law is how academic research and practical developments inform and feed off of each other, and this is one reason why I’m confident that the law will hold my interest for many years to come.

I am firmly committed to being based in the Bristol area when I graduate, both for my LPC and my training contract and then beyond.

Bristol is where my family and my partner live: I’ve lived here most of my life and I love the lifestyle here. I have come to see Bristol from a new point of view as part of the University while on a course with students from all over the world. In the same way, I look forward to getting to know another side of the city as I join the legal and business community.

Helena Zaba is a second-year MA Law student and a member of the Law Clinic. She will be taking up a training contract at a Bristol solicitors’ firm in 2015.

Alexandra Khageeva

My commitment to a career in commercial law is timetested. I graduated from the Law School of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2011 and was offered a position as a junior lawyer right after the graduation. Working in a large

company with affiliates across the world, I realised that if I was aiming to pursue a successful career I needed to acquire knowledge of English law, since almost all important business related issues were regulated with by the English common law.

Studying at Bristol University has proved challenging for me because of substantial differences between the educational systems in Russia and England. For example, all exams in Russian law schools are oral, while at Bristol I need to answer exam questions in writing. So first year was very stressful. I was trying to gain necessary study skills as quickly as I could. But, at the same time, I found studying English common law system very interesting. While some precedents were developed long ago, they still do not lose its relevance.

And through detailed judges’ opinions you may observe the changes in public policy, morality, and society as a whole. Among other factors, this made me decide to pursue a career in the UK upon graduation from the MA programme. The legal market here is infamous for its competitiveness at graduate level, but I hope it is the next challenge that I will overcome.  Alexandra Khageeva is a second-year MA Law student. She is already a qualified lawyer in Russia and now she is pursuing a career as a solicitor in the UK. Hammond Pei

Graduating with an LLB in China, I did not start my legal career immediately. Instead I chose to work with a small company specializing in mining investment. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the way in which people do business in China and build up commercial awareness.

Thanks to this previous experience, I am well prepared to serve clients in commercial legal arena. Studying in Bristol been valuable: it has helped build my knowledge of English common law and my English language Dicta | 2014 Page 35

competency has drastically improved.

After graduation from the MA programme I will return to Beijing and finish my traineeship, most likely with a reputable local firm rather than an international firm. China is a rapidly growing economy and, to further equip myself for the international business opportunities in China, it is beneficial to be familiar with both Chinese law and English common law.

I am even considering moving to Hong Kong to practice several years later. It is also for personal family reasons I plan to go back to Beijing initially after graduation.

For most Chinese classmates in Bristol with similar background as me, it is also possible to qualify in England, or in the US, namely California or New York, through transfer scheme or professional exams.

Hammond Pei is a second-year MA Law student who aims to practice in mainland China as a commercial lawyer and become multiple-qualified in the future for better development of legal career.

Morgan Jones

I have contemplated a myriad of potential career paths after graduation including the prospect of remaining in academia through studying for a PhD or working for human rights NGOs. However, a recent addition to my list of objectives is teaching. I already have an undergraduate degree in English Literature and entering the education profession has always interested me.

Therefore last summer I acquired a Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate of education which is an accredited qualification enabling me to teach English to students whose first language is not English both in the UK and abroad.

The significant growth in the demand for teachers in Eastern Europe over the past decade has made it a popular destination for English language teachers and it is there that I would like

to live and work for a year. There are opportunities to teach both children and adults of all ages in preschool, university, private institutions and companies, all of which appeal to me.

My strong desire to live in another country for some time and teach is not only a personal ambition of mine but is a necessity in order to obtain the experience required to gain entry onto the graduate scheme of my choice, namely Teach First. Teach First is a social enterprise that aims to address educational disadvantage.

It coordinates an employment-based teacher training programme whereby participants achieve Qualified Teacher Status through the participation in a two year training programme that involves the completion of a PGCE along with wider leadership skills training.

I envisage this navigation of my professional development away from law towards teaching will only be a temporary diversion. I intend to enroll in LPC and pursue a career in practice as a solicitor afterwards.

Morgan Jones is a second year MA Law student who intends to move to Indonesia in the following year in order to pursue a long-term ambition to teach English and become a travel writer.

Nicole Wong

Upon graduation, I hope to become a solicitor in London but I have not ruled out the possibility of pursuing further education or qualifying in another country. The prospect of moving to where the most opportunities lie does not terrify me but this is probably because I have already lived on four different continents already! That said, I absolutely love London. It is not only one of the world’s largest financial centres, but also a city with a great history and beautiful culture; it is an amalgamation of tradition and modernity. Having been to London multiple times to visit family while growing up, I am no stranger to this city. It was, however, a very different experience visiting over 20 law firms this past summer for UBLC sponsorship meetings in my capacity as Careers Secretary. I had never wanted to be a lawyer more than the moment I set foot in the pristine foyer of the law firm we had our very first meeting with.

My desire to be a lawyer began about 15 years ago. I actually can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a lawyer. When all the other little girls wanted to be ballerinas and movie stars, I wanted to be a lawyer, Dicta | 2014 Page 36

though I’m not entirely sure why. I explored this interest further when I was old enough to do so, undertaking a three-week internship at what is now Mayer Brown JSM. My interest in the legal profession was cemented when I attended Hong Kong’s most publicised murder trial that year. Since then, I completed a number of other legal internships, was part of the prelaw society during my undergraduate degree, and held a total of six senior positions of responsibility in my two years here at Bristol.

Nicole Wong is a second year MA law student and is the incumbent Careers Secretary for the UBLC. She also founded the Commercial Awareness Programme and is actively involved with organising the Bristol Law Conference.

AN INTERVIEW WITH SIR STEPHEN LAWS

LAWS REFLECTS ON HIS CAREER PATH AND JOURNEY TO BECOMING THE HEAD OF THE OFFICE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY COUNSEL.

by Spencer Turner

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ou graduated from the University of Bristol Law School in 1972. Can you describe your student experience?

Like nearly all law students of my generation, I came entirely fresh to the study of the law. My A levels had been in modern languages and Latin; and I didn’t know what to expect. I was excited by the new subjects, and by learning new ways of thinking. Teaching was mainly provided in lectures with problem solving exercises in tutorial groups.

There was relatively little essay writing. I spent a long time in the library trying to master the case law. I devised for myself a complex index card system for important cases. In the light of what happened subsequently, perhaps I should have spent more time getting to grips with the structure of statutes, and with the principles statutory construction. I was a bit of a slow starter; but, by my third year, I had been taught to think like a lawyer and in a creative way. I had also come to value a natural talent I have for identifying unexpected associations between things – This had (if anything) been something of a disadvantage in some of the subjects I had studied at school, but it is very useful in the law.

After being called to the bar by Middle Temple, why did you decide to join the Home Office?

I suppose it was the need for a stable income that initially took me into the public service. I was not significantly in debt when I left university. In my day lenders had not really got used to the fact that undergraduates had, but only recently, lost the protection of the Infant Relief Act. However, in the areas of the law that most interested me, I was likely to have to wait a long time, in practice at the bar, before I would be in the black, financially. There was no financial support for pupils (who, on the contrary, usually had to pay to be pupils); and tenancies were hard to come by. I joined the Home Office as a stepping stone to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC), which had attracted me from the time I first heard of it. I had been advised to prepare for it with some experience in a “front line” government department. The Home Office fitted that description, and it was a tremendous advantage to have had an introduction to how Whitehall works before moving to the OPC. Joining the public service is a decision I have never regretted. My career has been fascinating and, I believe, worthwhile, and it is what I was best suited for.

Could you give us a brief outline of your career?

After a year in the Home Office, I transferred on trial to the OPC. The Office provides a central service for Government departments for drafting Bills to be introduced or supported by the Government in Parliament,

and for advising on their Parliamentary handling and on other related matters.

The first Bills I worked on were those for the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Health Services Act 1976. In the 1980s, I worked on a number of privatisation measures: telecommunications, gas, water and coal and became the leader of my own drafting team. The Telecommunications Act 1984 was the most exciting creatively, as we were devising, for the first time, a model for the regulation of a privatised monopoly. From 1991 to 1999, I was in charge of the finance bills for the five Finance Acts 1996-1999. I also worked on various pieces of legislation that were less intricate from a technical point of view than tax law, but were often more politically sensitive. These included counter terrorism legislation and other Home Office proposals, such as the Identity Cards Act, as well as the abortive bill for the EU Constitution. From 2006, I was First Parliamentary Counsel and so head of the Office, until I retired from the Civil Service in 2012.

Could you tell us more about your position at the OPC?

The First Parliamentary Counsel post is a permanent secretary post within the Cabinet Office. The person who holds the post is the head of the OPC. From 2010, I combined the job with also being responsible for the offices of the Government’s Parliamentary Business Managers – the ministerial heads of which are the Leader of each House and the Government Chief Whip in each House. The three legal permanent secretaries, the highest civil service grade, are the Treasury Solicitor, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the First Parliamentary Counsel.

My successor, Richard Heaton, is both First Parliamentary Counsel and the permanent secretary and official head of the whole Cabinet Office, a position which, in my day, was held by the Cabinet Secretary in combination with his role as head of the Civil Service.

The role of First Parliamentary Counsel changed a great deal between the time I joined in 1976 and the time when I took on the role 30 years later. In 1976, the Office contained only 20 lawyers. The First Parliamentary Counsel was the most senior, but was able to devote most of his time to doing his share of drafting government bills. By 2006, the Office had grown to contain 60 lawyers. The position had acquired extra leadership and management responsibilities, which, like all leadership roles in the public sector, became even more onerous in the wake of the financial crisis. I am very proud that I was able to find both the means and the courage to make the changes the Office needed to make, in the light of its expansion, to adapt to the different demands on its expertise in turbulent financial circumstances.

The principal responsibility of the First

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Parliamentary Counsel, however, is to deliver the Government’s annual legislative programme. In theory, this is a responsibility owed to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet collectively. In practice, it involves working closely with the Government’s Parliamentary Business Managers, and being accountable to them. The process involves liaising with Government departments, complex programme and project management and the careful management of the drafting resources of the Office.

The post has also always involved giving advice to the leadership of the Civil Service on various constitutional matters on which the First Parliamentary Counsel has special expertise, working at the interface of Government, Parliament and the law. These include advising on the law and practice relating to Ministerial appointments, elections and government formation. So the period after the election in 2010 was a particularly busy and interesting period. In addition, as a permanent secretary, the First Parliamentary Counsel participates in the corporate leadership not only of the department of which the Office is part, the Cabinet Office, but also of the civil service as a whole.

What is your fondest memory of Bristol Law School?

That is a hard question. I have many fond memories of my time at Bristol, a lot of them quite personal.

But if I am literal minded - and that is probably what you would expect from a legislative drafter - and confine myself to the time I spent studying, I suppose my fondest memory would be a generic memory of a sunny afternoon in the law library and finding the case that exactly fitted the problem I had to solve. The thing that drew me to the law was the opportunity to solve problems, and that is what always gave me the most pleasure, both initially and throughout my career.

What advice would you give to current law students at Bristol?

Fortunately, you have not asked me for one piece of advice. So here are three. First, at a technical level, it is important to develop an understanding of statute law: how it is structured and why. Much university law is still devoted to case law, but statute law is all pervasive in many fields of practice and needs to be studied in its own right, independently of its potential as a source of litigation.

Secondly, at a career level, I would say that you should prepare yourself for the fact that most lawyers spend their time designing and implementing systems for their clients usually to prevent litigation rather than on fighting battles in court. In short, read David Howarth’s book “Law as Engineering”.

Thirdly, at a personal level, you should prepare for everything you think of as immutable to change. Develop the resilience needed to adapt to that, and to cope with adversity. If I have learned anything in the last 40 years, it is that those, together with curiosity, are important qualities that anyone can acquire for almost any job. Many people are attracted to the law because it appears to provide order,

continuity and stability. But both the law and legal world are in constant flux. The certainty that lawyers value so much cannot cure the fact that life in general is always confronting us with the unexpected. Succumbing to the temptation to assume that whatever worked yesterday is bound to work today is often disastrous - for a lawyer or, indeed, for anyone else – as too is the assumption that inaction is always less risky than action.

In a changing legal landscape, what careers opportunities are available to law graduates?

I believe that the periods in history in which a career at the bar has been anything but difficult have been very few and far between. The potential insecurity and immediate attendant indebtedness - in anticipation, perhaps, of eventual wealth - was too much for me in the 1970s; and it will be too much for many these days.

However, I would not discourage anyone from going to the bar who has an appetite for the risks, as well as a real talent and passion for the work. I agree that it is unlikely, in the foreseeable future, that public-funded legal work will provide good financial returns for members of the bar, or indeed for solicitors. As someone whose career represents a conscious choice in favour of public service over the opportunity for greater financial gains, that seems to me to be in the nature of things.

On the other hand, I think that a legal education is an excellent preparation for many sorts of work and consistently with my answer to the last question - I would encourage Bristol law graduates to assess their own strengths, skills and talents, as developed by their legal education - and to adapt their ambitions to fit the current market for those skills and talents. Neither a law degree, nor a legal professional qualification (which is usually an important and useful addition to a law degree) should be seen as a tramline into a branch of the legal profession. It is only something that enhances your saleability for the career you really want to pursue. No career can be planned from beginning to end. Mine certainly was not. It was mostly spent within only one organisation, but it took many wholly unanticipated turns. You can only work out what you want to do next and wait with interest to see where that leads.

Sir Stephen Laws KCB, QC(Hon), LLB(Hon) graduated from Bristol Law in 1972, where he then taught law before qualifying to practice as a barrister. He joined the Home Office and later transferred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. He was the first non-Oxbridge graduate to hold the office of First Parliamentary Counsel since it was established in 1869. He retired from the Civil Service in January 2012 and was appointed to the McKay Commission. He is a senior associate research fellow with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and an honourary senior research associate in the Department of Political Science at University College London.

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LIFE AS A TRAINEE MATTHEW SHELLEY

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Matthew Shelley is an LLB graduate from the University of Bristol Law School. He is currently a trainee solicitor at PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal LLP.

ithin days of finishing a Bristol law degree in June 2012, I started a 3-week vacation scheme at PwC Legal LLP. I completed a week in the Corporate, Litigation and Immigration departments and found the experience fantastic. It was my third vacation scheme; however, PwC Legal was very different. I often got frustrated when applying elsewhere for training contracts because of the dreaded question that always came up:

What makes this firm unique?’ The honest answer to this question is nothing; however, every firm prides itself on its culture differentiating it from everywhere else.

Whilst I am sure that is right to an extent, it is impossible to appreciate the culture of a law firm unless you have worked there for a couple of months. Nonetheless, PwC Legal is different. Its open plan seating is brilliant and allowed me to sit next to partners throughout my vacation scheme; but, the main difference with PwC Legal, is the established network it has.

PwC Legal is not an in-house firm, it’s a fully functioning law firm, offering the same seats as every other commercial law firm in London; however, it’s unique because of the links it has with PwC. The established network that PwC Legal enjoys, with over 180,000 PwC employees in 157 countries, makes the firm distinctive. My training contract is not only shaping me into a solicitor but also into a business person, as the partnership with PwC assures that we provide commercially focused legal advice and not just technical opinion.

It’s hard to summarise a normal day in the life of trainee at PwC Legal. My first seat has been in Immigration and I have loved every minute of it. I have worked closely with each political party on behalf of our clients, which are made up of the largest FTSE 100 companies to high-networth individuals. The client exposure and responsibility I’ve been given has been immense and on my first day I was already on the phone and having meetings with clients.

The highlight so far has to be going to a meeting with the Shadow Immigration Minister and then having a private tour of the Houses of Parliament.

My time at Bristol was incredible. I got involved in as much as possible and was fortunate enough to be the Club Captain of the University of Bristol Association Football Club. I often get asked at recruitment fairs what advice I would give to students that are applying for vacation schemes and training contracts. My advice is simple: at University you have so many opportunities, whether that is joining a sports team, a society or an organisation, and it would be a complete waste if you didn’t get involved in as much as possible. Throughout my studies I volunteered for a local charity, held positions within a sports club and frequently attended different society events. It does not matter if the extra-curricular activities you do are not related to law.

Through doing these things you’re showing you can commit your time to a project, you’re gaining valuable life skills that you can use throughout your career and it makes you a more versatile person.

LIFE AS A TRAINEE AMY SHAW

Amy Shaw is a second year trainee at Ashfords LLP.

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he life of a trainee at Ashfords LLP is a busy and enjoyable one. The firm’s attitude towards trainees is that they are the future of the firm - trainees experience real, interesting and varied work. I have attended the Royal Courts of Justice, an Employment Tribunal, site visits and numerous client meetings and conferences.

The Ashfords training contract is made up of four six-month seats. The huge advantage of securing a training contract with a full service law firm is the large variety of seat choices available to you. Ashfords allows you to choose a seat in Corporate, Private Client, Commercial Litigation, Construction, Marine, Employment, Intellectual Property, Commercial Property or Planning, amongst others.

The work that trainees experience in each of these seats is varied. In Corporate seats trainees have a chance to be involved at all stages of a deal, and in Litigation trainees experience the court/ tribunal process. I myself have drafted particulars of claim, taken witness statements and attended both court and a tribunal. I have had the opportunity to draft complex documents, improve my advocacy skills,

and have gained a commercial insight into a law firm as a functioning business.

Whilst Ashfords clearly has a commercial focus and drive, it is still a friendly and close-knit community. I have always felt well supported and able to ask questions if unsure - after all, as a trainee, you are here to learn!

As a trainee, it’s not all about the work at Ashfords and, there are many opportunities to get involved in networking and social activities. All trainees are members of the Junior Lawyers’ Division, with the opportunity to join the Committee and take an active role in the organisation of events. Trainees can also get involved with the Ashfords’ sports team, attend networking events on behalf of the firm and play an active part in fund-raising and organising events for the firm’s Charity of the Year.

It is important that a training contract fully prepares you for life as a qualified solicitor and Ashfords ensures that all trainees are well-rounded, have been exposed to clients and are confident in their ability to manage their own files upon qualification.

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A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A MINI-PUPIL TURAN HURSIT

Turan is the president of the Bristol Bar Association and an aspiring Public Law Barrister

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mini-pupillage is a placement with a barristers’ chambers during which mini-pupils are allocated a barrister, or several, to shadow. Depending on the area of law, mini- pupils may also have the chance to attend court hearings. Just as with a vacation scheme, the intention is to provide mini-pupils with an insight into the day-to-day work undertaken in a particular area of law and by a particular set of chambers. Placements tend to be no longer than one week but are nonetheless an excellent opportunity to test the waters of a practice area before making any life-changing decisions whilst at law school.

In July 2013, I undertook a mini-pupillage with Cornerstone Barristers; a public law chambers based in London that specialises in the slightly ‘sexier’ areas of law: immigration, judicial review, housing, local aut hor it y governance, and human rights. I had completed a few mini-pupillages before in various practice areas, but this one was by far the most useful.

During my time at Cornerstone, I shadowed four different barristers in cases concerning different areas of public law. The first concerned a Court of Protection issue – that is, an issue which fell under the jurisdiction of the court responsible for making decisions for those lacking the mental capacity to do so. The Court of Protection is not something that we come across very often as law students, so it was interesting to see the kinds of factbased arguments that were raised.

Later in the same day, I observed a repossession hearing that culminated in some last-minute negotiation

between counsels. This was the first time I had observed this kind of quick, on-your-feet, and slightly stressful dispute between barristers. But if studying law has taught me anything, it has been not to doubt the kind of argument that can be caused from something as trivial as fixing shelves in a state-owned property!

I spent the morning of Day Two watching applications for permission to apply for judicial review in the High Court. As the threshold for granting permission for review is low (claimants must simply have an ‘arguable’ case), permission was granted in most of the cases. The judge’s analysis of each case was, understandably, not particularly indepth. The experience nonetheless gave me a good idea of the broad spectrum of cases falling into the remit of the judicial review procedure.

On Day Three, I headed to the Court of Appeal to find out whether the Home Office was required to accommodate an unlawfully present family with no outstanding application. Two QCs and their juniors went headto-head in what I was expecting to be an exciting legal challenge – until the judges explained nearly five minutes into the hearing that the case was “too academic” to be heard. I suppose this was the part of the week that taught me that the Bar is an unpredictable profession.

My final court experience was what most mini-pupils would hope to witness during their time shadowing barristers. I watched not one, not two, not even three – but five QCs argue Dicta | 2014 Page 40

over a planning case deciding whether proposals to demolish a hospital were irrational on judicial review grounds (needless to say that the fees were capped at £10,000 – a sum which, as one barrister put it, “was spent in the first few sentences the court heard”).

The case gave me a fantastic overview of the kinds of procedural arguments raised in judicial review cases.

During my week at Cornerstone, I was also asked to complete a chambers assessment.

This is a piece of written work on which I later received feedback from a junior barrister. This was challenging but without a doubt the most useful part of my week in showing me the expectations of a ‘baby’ barrister. My feedback session also provided a good opportunity to ask questions.

In brief, anybody who obtains a mini-pupillage should expect a busy week. You will trek from court to court (hello, Google Maps), meet too many people to remember any names, and worry needlessly about asking the wrong questions and ‘looking stupid’.

But without the experience, you are unlikely to truly know what you will be up against at the junior end of the Bar.

A mini-pupillage is the perfect occasion to test your skills of understanding, see in action what you’ve read in the textbooks over the past few months or years, and gain knowledge from people who may one day assess you in a pupillage interview.

Turan Hursit is a fourth year LLB student, having spent a year abroad.

She is currently the President of the University of Bristol Bar Society.

TRADITIONS OF LAW BRITISH LAW IS STEEPED IN TRADITIONS Are they still relevant?

by Daisy Fulton

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raditions in the law range from precedent to wearing a wig and gown in court. Despite changes to the legal profession, many of these customs have remained.

Given the current economy, these are unsurprisingly ones which do not cost the government extra money. But should these traditions remain or are we foolishly holding on to a long-gone past?

S o m e traditions have stood the test of time and become conventions. Precedent is ingrained in our legal system and, while there are negative elements to this, such as complexity owing to the sheer number of cases, the benefits of consistency and fairness have outweighed these problems and it remains part of English law. In fact, much of the structure of our legal system remains the same as it has always been, notably the hierarchy of the courts, from the Magistrates Courts to the Supreme Court. There have been some changes, such as the addition to the hierarchy of the European Court of Human Rights The traditions should stay as long as they remain sufficiently flexible. For example, the tradition of precedent

has adapted with the inclusion of the ECHR, accepting that the Convention has power over common law, and as it can be modified to fall in line with modern developments, there is no reason to upset the legal system by removing the tradition.

It is believed by many that the organisation of the Bar is archaic with its Inns of Court, ‘cab rank’ rule and enforced dining at the Inns. These strictures are all based in tradition and it is in this branch of law that most of the traditions remain to this day. Some have good explanations behind them. Since 17th Century, the ‘cab rank’ rule has ensured that anyone who needs representation will have access to a barrister; there is no possibility that a case can be passed over and the defendant left unrepresented. Dining in the Inns, alongside the more senior barristers, gives newcomers a chance to learn from their experience. Such traditions raise the general standard of the legal profession. The benefit of this custom is evidenced by its widespread use, although with variations, among other professions: junior doctors shadow senior ones when learning, novice

“..should these traditions remain or are we foolishly holding on to a long-gone past?”

carpenters take up apprenticeships.

Other traditions are unnecessary today such as the strict ceremonial elements of court. The origin of the barristers’ wigs was said to disguise the barristers’ identity from the more dangerous members of the public who may try to attack them outside of court if the verdict did not go their way. Whether it is for this anonymity or not, the tradition of the wig has remained part of the theatre of the court and seems set to remain, even if it is no longer necessary as it once was. It is worth nothing that the courtroom traditions have not prevented the law being implemented fairly, so while it is important to keep an eye out for any emerging problems (other than the long-suffering barristers overheating during summer) for the moment the traditions are secure.

One tradition to go was the government’s decision to phase out Latin terminology from the law. The writ of mandamus is now known as a mandatory order and a ‘statement of truth’ is sworn rather than an affidavit.

This was a government attempt to make legal proceedings more transparent and accessible, although it goes against years of tradition. Yes, law students everywhere will lose that smug feeling of understanding phrases that the layman cannot, but on balance it is better that the law is intelligible to all?

Allowing for changing circumstances, so not overly fixating on tradition to the detriment of justice, there is no reason why they should not remain. So, enjoy the traditions and wear your itchy wigs with pride.

Daisy Fulton is a law student, currently in her first year at the University of Bristol. She is a member of the Bristol Law Clinic, and intends to become a solicitor.

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JUDGES AND MORALITY

THE EVOLVING NATURE OF MORALITY THROUGH THE EYES OF THE LAW

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Despite the reclining of importance that is placed upon religion in judicial reasoning, morality is still inherent within the law. by Jade White

s we step into an age of cultural diversity and secular society, the ‘courts of justice’ are forced to retreat from the Victorian pillars that pervaded the English legal system, and to apply the law according to its appropriate modern context. Sir James Munby recently illustrated this in his speech on law, morality and religion in the family courts: ‘happily for us, the days are past when the business of the judges was the enforcement of morals or religious beliefs’.

The vigour of religion and morality until the recent era of the 1970s placed repression of vice and immorality at the forefront of the judge’s role. This entailed a narrow view of sexual morality, an evident inequality of genders and a strong adherence to the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice. Notorious judges such as Lord Denning spoke of striking out ‘harmful conduct’, denouncing homosexuality as an unnatural vice and Sir Patrick Devlin highlighted the need for suppression of subversive activities to which ‘the man on the Clapham omnibus would react with indignation and disgust’.

On January 1st 1973, a Union Jack flag was raised in Brussels at the European Economic Community Headquarters to mark the new membership of the United Kingdom. This membership has had dramatic effects on the moral judgements of Denning and Devlin.

Gone now are the days of the narrow minded man on the Clapham omnibus, where a woman could be denied access to her child on the claim of adultery. Christianity is now not enforced by the court; religious beliefs are respected.

This neutrality and tolerance is demanded by Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950, to

which the UK is bound. Hence judges become more accepting and morality is viewed from an objective rightsbased perspective, rather than the perspective of an obedient Christian.

Munby appraises the new current role of the judge; them being no longer ‘custos morum’ of the people due to their appreciation of our pluralist and secular society.

Munby did not mean that morality within the settlement of cases is wholly diminished however; rather, it has significantly changed. The judicial task is now to assess matters by the standards of the reasonable person in 2013, not by the standards of the person who was predominantly influenced by stringent Christian teachings. The evolving nature of an open minded society, now accepting of homosexuality, sexual freedom and gender equality is a product of a diversifying community.

As public opinions change, common morals change and the law therefore needs to be flexible in order to develop and reflect this. The nature of morality is no longer focused upon strict religious underpinning; it is now focused upon the celebration of a nonprejudiced society.

This concept of a nonprejudiced society is moral in itself- it would be difficult to argue that inequality and prejudice is desirable in any community. In fact, it would be regarded as both unreasonable and illogical.

While it is true that judges are now religiously mutual, it would

be deceiving to say that morality does not come in to play. Morality, albeit no longer solely religion based, is inherent within judicial reasoning. Take the case of a Jehovah’s Witness child, whose life is dependent upon a blood transfusion.

Due to strong religious beliefs, the parents vehemently object to the blood transfusion consequentially endangering the life of the child.

According to a strict application of Munby’s views (that secular judges serve a multicultural community and thereby do justice to ‘all manner of people’ in no longer repressing the social minority) the religious beliefs of the family would be respected owing to the fact that the Jehovah’s Witness religion is accepted in our society. However, the community as a whole would find the consequences of exacting respect of this belief as intolerable. Morality is inherent.

The qualification of Article 9 is a statutory requirement of moralityit requires that the respect of religion is limited if necessary in a democratic society and in the interests of public safety, the protection of public order, health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

The judges are therefore required to perform a balancing act in which they weigh the morality of adherence to the decision of the parent against the morality of the consequences of adherence to the wishes of the parent.

This balancing act ensures justice prevails, enforcing the moral attitudes of society as a whole and thereby placing the judge as in fact a custos morum of the people.

Perhaps the case of Bull v Hall, heard in the Supreme Court in November 2013, exemplifies just how far the law has come. Lady Hale in her judgement admitted that the case

“The nature of morality is no longer focused upon strict religious underpinning; it is now focused upon the celebration of a nonprejudiced society.”

“Gone now are the days of the narrow minded man on the Clapham omnibus, where a woman could be denied access to her child on the claim of adultery.”

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posed questions which would have ‘unthinkable less than two decades ago’. Homosexual civil partners were refused a double bedroom at the defendants’ hotel as the owners (Mr and Mrs Bull) believed marriage, in its true sense, to be limited to heterosexual couples and argued that, under Article 9, their belief was to be respected. Article 9 is of course limited. Under Articles 14 and 8, the homosexual couple posed their right to respect for their private life without unjustified discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Unanimously, it was held that the discrimination was unjustified as the owners treated the civil partners “less favourably than [they] would treat others”, namely married heterosexuals, and this outweighed their use of Article 9. And so the role of the judge is clear. A balancing act

ensures morality is imposed through the implementation of rights in a modern context, encompassing a new tolerance of diversity.

Moral judgements are altogether inescapable within the law.

Judges themselves are often left with discretion when interpreting laws and deciding cases. Often, morality is a decisive factor in the reasoning, intervening where laws could potentially lead to manifest injustice or absurdity. Judges are often required to ask whether the law is ‘compatible with human dignity’ or whether the outcome of a case would be regarded as ‘unconscionable’. Sir James Munby stated that there is ‘no bright line test that the law can set’. In doing this he reinforces the variety of beliefs within our society and the practicality of having discretion in order to preclude rigid rules from which injustice would

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flow. It is here that moral judgements are made.

The inherent nature of morality within the law cannot be ignored, even in an age where religion has effectively taken a backseat. The application of morality by judges prevents a regression in to a legal system far removed from the reality and common morals of today’s society.

Jade White is a 2nd year LLB student who will transfer to the University of Hong Kong to do a year of study abroad.

She is an aspiring barrister.

ART OF THE THIRD REICH THE STRANGE CASE OF CORNELIUS GURLITT What is the legal status of recently discovered hiddern artwork?

by Vera Yeh

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n March 2012, the police arrived at Cornelius Gurlitt’s house in Munich to investigate allegations of tax evasion. Upon searching the house, a staggering cache of 1,479 Nazi-looted artworks were found, with a present estimated value of up to EUR 50 million. The police removed the artworks from Gurlitt and have been holding them since.

Cornelius Gurlitt’s father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, had been an art dealer in service of the Third Reich. He was in charge of procuring artworks for the Fuhrermuseum - Hitler’s unrealised museum complex built as a monument to him and sold degenerate art abroad to raise money for the Reich.

Through which, Hildebrand managed to accumulate a sizeable collection of art. Upon his untimely death in a car accident, his son Cornelius inherited the artwork as a teenager.

Under Hitler, modern art was re-named degenerate art.

Eschewing modern art for being un-

German and Jewish, Hitler preferred paintings and sculptures that drew on the more traditional Greco-Roman style. Through the actions of the Reichskulturkammer (Reich Culture Chamber), the Nazis embarked on a campaign intended to cleanse the culture of supposedly degenerate art.

Artworks were looted from museums and private homes to be sold abroad to raise money for the Reich, burnt or stored in secret locations. Since the end of the Second World War, numerous looted artworks have been recovered. Nonetheless, a legal can of worms has been opened- who owns these artworks? Do the heirs of their pre-war owners have a claim on them?

Does Germany have an obligation to make restitutions to these heirs as compensation for the war?

Degenerate art occupies a contentious legal and ethical position within the world of modern art.

Due to the Nazi’s varied strategy of handling it, degenerate art may be

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found in a variety of locations, such as in museums outside Germany where it would have been bought from art dealers such as Hildebrand Gurlitt by foreign collectors seeking to buy masterpieces at a pittance, or hidden in secret locations such as in Cornelius Gurlitt’s flat. The Gurlitt case may set a legal precedent for the handling of ownership issues in Nazi-looted art with wide ramifications. The decision would impact the identification of the true owners of Nazi-looted art, which would apply to future art discoveries in remote locations in addition to establishments where such art may be found. In essence, collectors and museums holding degenerate art might be forced to relinquish masterpieces something which most are naturally reluctant to do.

The German Statute of Limitations might render Cornelius Gurlitt the legitimate owner of the artwork. The Statute of Limitations prescribes a period of limitation for

the bringing of actions of certain kinds, rendering any action brought after the end of the period invalid.

The German Statute of Limitations permitting action up to 30 years after the event, all claims regarding Gurlitt’s art cache might be invalid, World War 2 having ended in 1945. Gurlitt himself insists that he inherited them legally from his father and he is therefore the rightful owner of the paintings, stating that he would “give nothing back willingly”. Indeed, Augsburg prosecutor Reinhard Nemetz released a statement denying the suspicion of the artwork, not stolen by the Nazis and was “undoubtedly the property of the accused” and would be “returned to Gurlitt immediately”. Moreover, the 1938 Nazi law which authorised the looting has never been repealed.

All these impediments to the ascertainment of the legitimate owners of Gurlitt’s artworks are at odds with Germany’s pledge to restore plundered Nazi art. Germany is a signatory of the Art of the Third Reich Washington Conference Principles on NaziConfiscated Art, which outlines detailed procedures for the returning of plundered art to their rightful owners.

Nonetheless, the Principles are not binding on German law and Germany is under no obligation to follow them.

Hence, they can only be enforced through diplomatic pressure. On November 8, the American embassy in Berlin issued an official demarche to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Culture, urging that the list of paintings found in Gurlitt’s apartment be published. In response, the German authorities published 25 of the works online, promising that the list would be “continuously updated”. But the German lack of initiative is reflective of German reluctance to restore plundered art and hints at unwillingness to make reparations regarding modern art. The heirs of German-Jewish art collector Alfred Fletchtheim, for example, in pursuit of getting Munich museums to return their plundered art, have encountered numerous bureaucracies and commissions, probably set up in the hope of wearing them out.

Like in the Gurlitt case,

heirs of owners of looted art face an uphill battle in attempting to claim their inheritance worldwide. After the Washington Principles were signed, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York pledged to return all plundered art to their rightful owners.

To this date, no artworks have been returned.

Dissatisfied with the presumed ignoring of the moral and historical aspects of the Gurlitt case, the Jewish community criticised the handling of the Gurlitt case by the German authorities. The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany Dieter Graumann said “After the whole thing was dealt with almost conspiratorially for 18 months, the hasty reaction of a blanket return of the paintings is surely the wrong way to go about things”. President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder called for Germany not to shirk its moral obligation to speed up the return of Nazi-looted art and called for the formation of a commission to process ownership claims and eliminate the 30-year statute of limitations.

The fate of the ownership of Gurlitt’s paintings is still unconfirmed at press time, but Gurlitt has stated his reluctance to sell them should he be found their legitimate owner.

Nonetheless, several instances exist where the paintings might be resold.

Gurlitt has sold paintings in the past to support himself, since he draws no pension. However, this sale would be under private law and would not amount to restitution for the painting’s heirs. Second, the paintings could be forcibly removed from Gurlitt through the invoking of the Nuremberg principles to class him and his father as war criminals who have committed crimes against humanity. This course of action is unlikely to succeed as the selling of art under Nazi rule is relatively benign compared to the Holocaust.

Should the paintings be forcibly removed from Gurlitt and resold, the question of the heir’s claim to them would remain open.

The paintings would carry with them the risk of litigation, which would not appeal to buyers. As such, the only acceptable course of action is

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to ascertain the rightful owners of Gurlitt’s artworks and return the artworks to them.

There has been no visible change to German reluctance to make reparations in the area of modern art.

Heirs to owners of looted art have always faced an uphill battle when trying to claim their inheritance, due to the 30-year Statute of Limitations and the continued existence of the 1938 law which authorised the looting.

Only when these two laws are altered will the handling of such cases be more efficient.

Nonetheless German reluctance is understandable.

Germany would rather the world and itself not be Art of the Third Reich reminded of its tainted past. Also, a change in the law to favour heirs would cause a worldwide upheaval in the world of art and Germany might be reluctant to shoulder the blame for the inconvenience.

In conclusion, the ball is in Germany’s court and it calls the shots. Everyone else can only apply diplomatic pressure and complain.

Until Germany makes this a priority, hoping for a new legal world is in vain.

Vera Yeh is a second year law student.

Inspired by her father who raised her discussing wartime issues round the dinner table, she plans to enter legal research on history and war.

THE FUTURE IS LEAVING AN INTERVIEW WITH KEITH STANTON

Stanton explores the evolution of legal education in the UK.

by Shaun White

Most law students will know Keith Stanton, previous Head of the Department of Law at Bristol, for his quick quips, dry humour and love of teaching. A graduate of Oxford, Keith has taught at the University of Bristol since 1973. Yes – you read that correctly. He has been a lecturer for forty years. Keith is quick to point out that he is not an anomaly. Nigel Furey, who is now part-time, started at the same time as him. When asked about reasons as to why Bristol has been such a great fit, Keith responds, jokingly, “lack of ambition and being bad at interviews is a possible explanation.” On a somewhat more serious note, the job allows him to walk to work, which is something he wasn’t able to do when he worked in London.

What we may not know about Keith are his thoughts on legal education in the UK. Dicta had an opportunity to discuss the modernising and changing aspects of this particular field. In addition to the standard three-year LLB programme, there are now a multitude of ways to become a qualified lawyer, including through the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), the two-year senior status LLB, the two- year LLB run by the commercial providers, and the two-year MA in Law programmes. Given the broad range of options now available to law students, we have asked Keith about this move away from the traditional LLB legal education and what the implications of this transition might be.

“The one thing we can be certain about is that legal education in the UK in ten years time will not look the same as it does today. I think it is anyone’s guess what it will look like. As they say; it is madness to try to predict the future, but you will be unemployed if you fail to predict the future correctly.”

Keith has extensive experience in teaching and researching law. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Society of Legal Scholars for a number of years, and was President of the Society in 2011-2012. As Keith says, “reform of legal education has never really been off the agenda,” and there are a variety of factors.

“Fees, driven by the political drive to cut expenditure, are obviously a big factor. But, so is the liberalization of the legal profession and the appearance of alternative business structures.”

The difficult economic conditions have caused employers to keep costs low, or to employ staff who can earn their keep right away. The former explains the ‘explosion’ in the number of paralegal jobs, whereas the rise

of ‘commercial awareness’ confirms the latter. “Government desire to cut costs also explains - if it does not justify - the cuts in legal aid which is crippling the criminal bar,” Stanton contends.

There is concern among students about rising debt levels, which has acted as a vehicle for change.

He believes there are two major reasons as to why student debt will remain a factor.

“The commercial law schools clearly see it as a major sales plus for their products that they can deliver programmes cheaper over a shorter period than traditional universities. Also, the government (for reasons I don’t believe can work in the medium term) is footing larger and larger bills for student loans as it deregulates.” Keith contends that the selling off of loans is nothing more than a short-term solution to funding new ones.

The students also have undergone a complete transformation. Keith acknowledges the noticeable change in student demographics since his arrival in the early 1970s. “When I started here in 1973, the student body was exclusively undergraduate and almost exclusively home students. We had about 100 undergraduates a year who were largely from the south of England. In the intervening years Higher Education has become globalised, both in terms of students and staff.” And for Keith, this reflects changes that have occurred in society generally.

In this sense, change has been part of a continuous and evolving process. It has followed a winding path consisting of many twists and turns - one can only hope that Keith’s walk to campus is less adventurous and more easily navigated.

“As they say; it is madness to try to predict the future, but you will be unemployed if you fail to predict the future correctly.”

“Reform of legal education has never really been off the agenda.”

Keith Stanton studied law at Oxford and has taught at the University of Bristol since 1973. He served as Head of the Department of Law from 1992 to 1997 and School of Law from 2005 to 2009.

Shaun White studied history and political science at Western University in Canada. While studying at the University of Bristol Law School, Shaun is a research editor for the Bristol Law Review and intends to pursue a career as a corporate solicitor.

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DO JUDGES HAVE TOO MUCH POWER? JUDGESí LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY HAS SPARKED WORRIES The inherent nature of morality within the law cannot be ignored.

by James Marlow

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t is the judge who personifies the law. Judges convict and punish offenders, resolve disputes and can be described as the guardians of the fundamental premise that the law should be fair and just. In the legal order of the United Kingdom, law may come from statute or from the common law; judge-made law that develops over time with a unique and persuasive flexibility.

We may celebrate and exalt the robed individual who adjudicates and speaks the law yet we may also criticise their activism or unaccountability and question their independence from politics. It is in this heated context that this article sits and its intention will be to assert that the question of whether judges have too much power will no longer be of relevance if policies under the heading of ‘new legal world’ are implemented.

Persuasive arguments for an elected judiciary and other new accountability measures suggest that removing barriers for greater public access and exposure to the ‘elusive’ judiciary will diminish questions of whether judges have too much power.

I will begin by exploring what motivates arguments for an elected judiciary in the United Kingdom and move on to assess whether they are credible. Essentially, the premise is as follows: judges currently are not elected and therefore are not accountable and consequently are thought to be too powerful not because of what they are doing but because of how they are placed in their position. By introducing judicial election policies we make the system far more legitimate in the eyes of those cynical of unaccountable judicial power. Unlike politicians who receive their legitimacy through public voting, judges receive their power through appointment which does not involve the public at any stage, and takes a more businesslike approach in the sense that individuals are recruited from the ranks of senior barristers.

This ‘behind closed doors’ culture pervades judicial appointment

and provokes scepticism about the power which judges then acquire.

It is asserted that because they are not accountable and pressured in a way Members of Parliament might be in the form of voting, judges are not burdened to take account of the national interest in their judgments.

The law which flows from their decisions can thus be argued to be reflective of elite personal opinion, not that of the nation’s.

views held by the judges. Appointment to the judicial branch in this mode would mean that the judge has a tangible connection with the public and as such they will be pressured to act in the national interest and judgements will reflect the opinion of the majority of the population.

It is accepted that such a proposition is radical and not easily implemented, but such a change in the judicial landscape would mean those

It may be easy to simply challenge the system as it is and supporters of an unelected judiciary will argue that to introduce election will result in the diminishing of judicial independence which will be fatal to the very legitimacy this article is seeking to establish. However, it is naïve to stubbornly reject election in a world where the public have an increasing appetite for greater involvement in affairs which govern their lives. To create elected and therefore accountable judges, it is proposed that appointments from senior barristers in a new legal world will be in the form of informed pubic voting both for their appointment and removal. Candidates will stand for election in much the same way local ministers would and the public would then vote based on the merit and the

convicting and punishing offenders, resolve disputes and guarding the fairness of the UK legal system will be ones that the public are familiar with and want to be doing so.

It had been established that the ‘behind closed doors’ culture raises significant issues of accountability of the judiciary. However, a further ‘new legal world’ policy implementation of having cameras in the courtroom is a landmark progression for the transparency and openness of UK courts.

Since 2009 the UK Supreme Court has been televised and a campaign to get Court of Appeal proceedings televised as well has now become a reality. From the 31st October 2013, the law has changed to allow proceedings in the Court of Appeal to be filmed. Lord Thomas, the new Lord

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Chief Justice of England and Wales, welcomed court broadcasting stating that “it will help assist understanding of the way in which the courts work and enable the public to see the way justice is delivered in an even more open and transparent manner than at present.” Of course, public access to the courts is a fundamental aspect of any legal system and in the UK anyone can personally go to the courts to view a trial but I argue that through television, access to the courts will dramatically increase because of ease of access. Greater public awareness is healthy for the ‘new legal world’ and a natural consequence of having cameras in court will be strengthened accountability.

The recent outcry in a case where a 41 year old man was allowed to walk free after admitting having sex with a 13 year old girl raised significant questions as to both treatment of rape victims and the behaviour of advocates and judges in the courtroom. The barrister acting for the defendant used

words such as “predatory” and “seemed older than she was” to describe the 13 year old victim. It is submitted that this is an instance of gross insensitivity towards a vulnerable rape victim and that arguably, if there had been a camera in the courtroom, such treatment would not have occurred. If a judge or barrister knows everything they say will be televised to an almost live standard then it is more likely this will inform their behaviour and consequently lead to better standards for the treatment of victims.

Having cameras in courts must be recognised as a serious and sensible way to heighten accountability of the judiciary but we must not settle on having only two tiers of courts being televised- this is something that must pervade the entire UK legal system.

To conclude, this article has sought to establish that the concept of accountability is intertwined with the debate about whether judges have too much power. The question is provoked because the courts and the actions Dicta | 2014 Page 49

of judges are far removed from the lives of the majority of the public and for the legal system of the UK to be acceptable in a world requiring greater public access and transparency, this must change. New initiatives such as cameras in courts and electing judges instead of appointing without public involvement are steps in the right direction in burdening judges to take account of the national interest.

Political scientists argue that the court has no enforcement powers and no source of legitimacy other than the trust of the people; that trust must be regained for questions relating to judicial power to calm.

James Marlow is a second year LLB student, who aims to start a career in Corporate Law after graduating. He rows for the University Boat Club.

THE CREATIVE SIDE OF LAW AN INTERVIEW WITH MAGDA RACZYNSKA

Magda Raczynska talks about her career and law in other jurisdictions.

by Shaun White

I

meet Magda on the third floor of the Wills Memorial Building in a relatively small but quaint office.

The rain faintly hits the window that peers out onto the courtyard. She sits at her desk engrossed between upcoming lectures, research, and, to the benefit of Dicta, this very interview. I ask her what exactly attracted her to law.

“It involves creativity within a set social framework,” Magda replies enthusiastically, and points out how the subject combines her previous academic experience in natural sciences. It represents a compromise between the two. “It’s the study of structures and principles, but in practice it’s all about interpretation and application. You have to integrate and apply the rules often to unpredictable scenarios.”

This desire for creativity has led Magda on a pathway to the commercial side of law. “The commercial arena is a particularly exciting playground for a researcher interested in the quest for underlying structures. I was curious to know how people interact between one another, how they manage resources, how wealth can be created, altered and distributed.”

However, it doesn’t mean that she’s neglected her previous passion for natural sciences. The attraction clearly persists in the way she describes neuroscience.

“I still remember a quote that I read when studying: ‘scientists have spent so much time examining the universe and yet the brain remains far less discovered and far less understood’ – and for me this seemed incredible given that social structures are based on how people make decisions and how people think. To not understand the processes that go on in people’s

brains seems to be a major gap that needs filling.”

Magda elaborates on a potential project: “I have an idea of combining neuroscience with my interests in law by exploring aspects of behavioural economics. This could help us understand how legal decisions are made and how they ought to be made, perhaps in a fairer way, or in a more efficient way.” She firmly believes that such insight can lead society to better shape rules and the legal framework.

While academic experiences have contributed to her success, Magda has benefited from practical experiences, too. While studying in Poland, she landed a summer internship at Allen & Overy and worked at a barristers’ chambers.

These work placements helped her to develop certain legal skills.

“I was involved, just as any other junior lawyer would be, in drafting contracts and advising clients usually, on a variety of issues stretching from health and safety to financial markets and derivatives. These type of financial instruments are complex and, certainly for an undergraduate at the time, seemed both fascinating and completely mind-boggling.”

Vacation scheme candidates, you have been warned! Yet, the challenges did not seem to deter Magda from expressing her creative side. Despite the work being technical at times, it gave her the opportunity to “play with rules - to interpret and apply law to real life scenarios.”

“As a student, you need variety and a chance to test yourself in different contexts. It was an excellent environment to develop my analytical skills. At both places, you were able to see how much more there is out there

“The commercial arena is a particularly exciting playground for a researcher interested in the quest for underlying structures.”

Dicta | 2014 Page 50

to find out about law.”

But wasn’t this Polish law, and surely the English and Polish legal systems don’t intersect too heavily?

The lecturer within her surfaces as she explains that since Polish law is based on French and German law, she would often explore to what extent the Polish legal system adapted or adopted French or German rules. “That sparked

“Comparative law is intellectually very valuable.” my interest in comparative law - I was able to see how you can approach similar problems in different ways and sometimes arrive at similar solutions but sometimes at very different ones.”

Certainly it is this initial runin with comparative law that propelled her to partake in similar classes as an Erasmus student at Maastricht University. A particular class lectured

by Professor Sjef van Erp allowed the young, eager student to pursue comparative property law concepts.

“Comparative law is intellectually very valuable. It forces you to reflect about your own jurisdiction. In a way, you learn more about your own legal system than the foreign one.”

“For me, comparative law is not the goal in itself. I treat it to find out about the new perspectives,” she confidently states, “it’s very useful to be prepared to accept that there may be other solutions out there and to examine the reasons behind those choices.” She qualifies this conjecture on the belief system of ‘to each their own’ – a method that is clearly working well thus far.

It is this ongoing search for new and practical solutions that has prompted Magda to explore secured transactions in England and other countries a little bit more. “Secured transactions law is of particular interest to me because it combines property law, commercial law, contract

and insolvency. Many companies and individuals need finance in order to function and operate their day-to-day business.”

It is often the case that raising capital involves borrowing, yet lenders are reluctant to do so unless the borrower offers an asset as security for the loan. If the loan is not repaid, the lender is usually able to sell the asset and take the money in order to have the loan repaid.

“Various assets can serve as security - not only land but also cars, shares or even intellectual property rights. Each type of asset raises its own issues in relation to how security is taken and enforced, and I find that particularly interesting.”

Indeed, Magda soon found herself involved in the Secured Transactions Law Reform Project.

The project has seen such illustrious leaders as Lord Bingham, Lord Seville, Professor Louise Gullifer and Professor Sir Roy Goode. The objective of the project is to clarify the complexity of taking security, the priority and enforcement rules in English law. Magda advocates that a wider registration scheme for security interests is likely to provide much needed transparency, improve the certainty of the law, and efficiency by reducing transaction costs.

Magda has been conducting

research for Working Group A, and often looked at other jurisdictions.

This seems to be where her love for comparative law really comes into play.

“I’ve been looking at the solutions adopted under the Uniform Commercial Code in the US but also in the Personal Property Security Acts in Canadian provinces, New Zealand, Australia and Jersey. I’ve been providing the working group with information on what other systems are doing.”

Magda is hopeful that the project will fulfil its objectives and will “lead to the adoption of better secured transactions law,” she tells me a few moments later. However, even with her commitment to the project, she doesn’t forget about her role as a lecturer. Magda hopes that her fascination with the law is projected onto her students. In turn, this will incite them with some passion that can spark their own legal interests.

“I love inspiring others. If I can use my research to enthuse others that’s even better. I enjoy being able to share my findings with the students, discussing why the system may or may not work and if it can work better.

But, having said that, the two: research and teaching are complementing, and equally, I would say often the questions that students ask go to the ‘heart’ of the

Dicta | 2014 Page 51

topic.”

So, she too, finds inspiration from the students. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and one that feels almost natural considering the amount of sheer effort and time she devotes to her students and the University of Bristol. In fact, it was only last year that she remembers nervously sitting in the staff common room in the Wills Memorial Building waiting for her interview. Of course, as one can probably now tell, this wasn’t nerves.

“I started talking to the existing staff members and some postgraduate students. The discussion was so interesting that I completely did not the watch the time. I almost missed my interview! I ran into the room and was barely breathing; the interview was on the fifth floor and I was quite worried that I wouldn’t be able to make the interview.”

Of course, to our benefit, she didn’t miss the interview. Now, she sits comfortably in her desk chair, and it has been noticeable for a while that the rain at her window has stopped.

Magda Raczynska is a newcomer to Bristol Law School having joined in 2013. She currently teaches Personal Property and Trusts Law at both undergraduate and postgraduate level as well as Credit, Security, and Insolvency at the LLM level.

TO IMPROVE IS TO CHANGE: TO BE PERFECT IS TO CHANGE OFTEN IS REFORM NECESSARY? Megan Doyle investigates law school reform in the USA.

by Megan Doyle

C

ould I have made it as a lawyer after two years?

Probably.” These are the words of Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, acknowledging President Obama’s plea to cut a year of classroom instruction. The two are just a few of the many lawyers advocating for reform of the American law school system.

In America, eligibility to practice law requires a license granted by the American Bar Association. The ABA is currently one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world.

With over 400,000 members, it is not only responsible for accrediting law schools in America, but also for creating the model ethics code for the legal profession. Typically for an individual to acquire a license they must demonstrate proficiency in two distinct areas: character and competence. Character is measured through background checks to make certain that the candidate holds the utmost professionalism. The second area, competence, has become more controversial. Competence is established through acquiring a Juris Doctorate granted by an ABA-approved law school as well as achieving a passing score on the bar examination. The controversy arises when looking at the ABA’s requirements of the law school at which the applicant attended.

Traditionally, American law schools have put too much emphasis on theoretical skills and have done very little to ensure that their graduates possess the practical skills required to practice law. It is later up to the firms that hire the fresh-faced lawyers to furnish them with the training they need. This has many people, including Obama, questioning whether it is time for a reform of America’s legal education system.

Samuel Estreicher, a professor at New York University Law School, pitched an innovative idea. In an article published in the New York Journal of Legislation

and Public Policy, Esteicher introduced the plan of allowing law students to sit the bar exam after completing just two years of their law degree. He argues that reducing the law school requirements for bar eligibility from three to two years would cut costs and pressure law schools to put more focus on the practical side of the law.

There has also been talk about allowing for the first time an online J.D. degree. In an announcement from the William Mitchell College of Law, the university explains plans to offer the first ABA-approved online and face-to-face J.D. as early as 2015. This is a clear indication of the ABA’s new attitude of allowing law schools to experiment with the creativity and flexibility of their curriculum; although the notion of ‘cutting and pasting’ a degree doesn’t seem like the ‘practical’ answer to me.

Recently, the ABA released a draft report published by the Task Force on the Future of Legal Education, which acted as a proposed answer to the ongoing demand for change. The Task Force held open hearings, conducted online conferences and forums to enable law school deans, legal instructors, judges, regulators, and interested parties to voice their opinions. The report highlights the severe drop in applications, the large burden of student debt, and the diminished job opportunities for graduates.

The proposed new program should place more value on accessibility, affordability and practical training.

Focus is placed on eliminating certain accreditation requirements as well as placing more emphasis on practical training in the schools. Yet there has been some backlash in relation to these prospective plans from many notable figures. Michail Olivas, the former president of the Association of American Law School, insists that relaxing the accreditation standards would be detrimental to the educational system. Some criticisms alleged that the report is fighting on behalf of the law schools instead of the students who will attend them.

The ABA maintained that the Task Force is continuing to work towards new proposals for legal education reform. The draft is simply meant to represent the continuous efforts from not only the task force itself, but also a number of cardinal contributors. In other words, no prospective reforms are imminent.

In the words of ABA president James R. Silkenat: “Legal education in the United States is the best in the world, but it must continue to evolve to match the rapid changes that are taking place in legal practice in the United States.”

Megan Doyle studied psychology and political science at the University of Central Florida in the USA. She is a first year postgraduate student at the University of Bristol Law School.

Megan intends to pursue a legal career in England.

“It is time for a reform of America’s legal education system.”

Dicta | 2014 Page 52

IMPENDING CRISIS ARTICLING IN ONTARIO, CANADA

Canadian students choosing to study in the UK are navigating uncharted territory.

by Max Koenekoop

A

rticling in Ontario, Canada is similar, but not identical to a training contract in the United Kingdom. Law school graduates in Ontario, the future lawyers of the province, are required to article for a ten month stint with a law firm under the guidance of a practiced member of the Bar. Recently, there has been an ‘articling crisis’ – positions have difficult to obtain due to an overabundance of graduates.

According to the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC), only one out of every seven graduates received an articling position in Ontario. This is a marked departure from the past and a trend that legal scholars predict will worsen in the upcoming years.

These trends have jumpstarted a new revolution in Ontario. The widespread appeal of ‘going abroad’ for law school has developed into a common practice for both Ontarians and other Canadians who wish to pursue a career in law.

Many students have gone elsewhere for legal education, particularly in Commonwealth jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom.

It is difficult to understand why Canada has so few law programs.

This grouped with rising tuition costs, an elevated number of applicants, and harsh regulations on first-year intake levels, makes it clear that there

is a bulwark set up against aspiring lawyers. The U.K.’s two-year graduate LLB program, or equivalent Master in Law degree has advantages over the traditional path. The U.K. programs are one year shorter than the three-year Juris Doctorate degrees offered back home. This option cuts costs and the prospects of travelling abroad are enticing. Thus, the Commonwealth alternative is seemingly more practical and

“These trends have jumpstarted a new revolution in Ontario.”

you’re required to sit a minimum of seven exams. Yet this option still remains a viable alternative. Canadian students choosing to study in the UK are navigating uncharted territory.

Nevertheless, there has been an influx of international law graduates coming back to Canadian soil. This has diversified Ontario’s licensing procedure.

Perhaps this change has alleviated some of the stress from recent graduates who are departing from Heathrow airport aboard an Air Canada 747 only to return home and sit additional exams. I suppose the q u e s t i o n remains: has this dramatic change led to what some people have deemed the creation of a ‘diluted’ class of a once highly regarded legal profession? Certainly time will tell whether the changing nature of the licensing process will have an effect on the performance of international and domestic law graduates alike.

“Canadian students choosing to study in the UK are navigating uncharted territory.”

beneficial.

LSUC has recently implemented the Law Practice Program, also known as the Pathways Pilot Program. It acts as an alternative to the traditional articling program, and hopes to “fill the gaps” created by a shortage of articling positions.

It is a four-month training course and a four-month work placement.

Ontario law school graduates can now choose between taking the LPP or the articling route to fulfil the mandatory requirement for the Bar. Despite employment opportunities here, many Canadians wish to return home to practice law.

Ontarians will be faced with a series of accreditation examinations. It is far from a seamless transition – Dicta | 2014 Page 53

Max Koenekoop graduated from McGill University, and is currently enrolled in the two-year MA in Law program at the University of Bristol Law School. His future plan is to become a commercial solicitor.

TRANSPARENCY IN SOUTH KOREA ACCESSING COURT RECORDS IN SOUTH KOREA It was not until recently that judgements were made available to the public.

by Yoonyoung Choi

C

itizens of Commonwealth jurisdictions are able to search court judgments on the internet without having to leave their desk. This accessibility is taken for granted. In South Korea, the lower courts had previously demanded that members of the general public fill out an application to view court documents. Court records are available at the Supreme Court Library, but only professionals such as lawyers were exempt from the application process. Members of the general public were subject to a rigorous application process that included confirming their identity and listing the purpose for obtaining the information.

It was not until recently that these laws were changed. As a response to public pressures, the Supreme Court created the ‘Rules for Inspection and Copying of Finalised Criminal Litigation Records’ that came into effect in January 2013. The amended law requires the judgments in criminal law cases to be made available to the public.

The content of the decisions are anonymous in order to protect personal information of the parties and lawyers involved in the case. Where there are potential concerns in relation to the privacy of parties, a court secretary still has the power of non-disclosure. The scope will be extended in 2015 when civil cases become available to the public.

Article 109 of the Constitution of South Korea states, “trials and decisions of the courts shall be open to the public.” Yet, the judiciary does not disclose details in cases heard before the lower courts, District Court, and High Court. Only the decisions of the Supreme Court are available on a limited basis. This is like

“This is like hearing the results to a football game on the radio rather than watching the coverage on live TV.”

hearing the results to a football game on the radio rather than watching the coverage on live TV. Leaving it up to the news to relay the information is problematic - even pointless.

This issue of transparency has been brought to a wider audience because of alleged ideological bias on behalf of the judiciary. As a result, the public distrust has grown stronger. If the courts released judgments to the public, then it will help to understand the factual relationship and reasoning of the judges. The Supreme Court argues that full disclosure is costly, raises privacy concerns, and media coverage could lead to judges making unfair decisions.

The Korean Bar Association (KBA), political parties, and the media had raised concerns suggesting the need for revision to current laws. The calls for change are to protect citizens’ constitutional rights. By promoting transparency, it will prevent judges from ruling arbitrarily.

In turn, this might even thwart public distress. The KBA will benefit from these revisions, too. Lawyers could approach cases with a degree of certainty and predictability.

The efficacy of the new law has been put to the test. The rulings do not contain the name of the parties and their personal information, but are referenced by case name, case numbers, and the court’s name. The general public has complained about the anonymity of the parties because it poses an inconvenience on researchers trying to understand and analyse the cases. Regardless of the anonymity factor, the level of disclosure has increased and accessibility has been heightened. This is expected to serve as a beacon of hope in resolving the distrust that people have shared for the South Korean legal system. Accessibility will also contribute to the development of legal industry and education.

Yoonyoung Choi is a first year MA Law student who majored in Public Administration in South Korea. She has an interest in Energy/Natural Resources and Shipping law.

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THE MANX LEGAL SYSTEM THE ISLE OF MAN IS UNIQUE.

The differences between the UK and the Isle of Man legal systems.

by Ella Ennos-Dann

T

he Isle of Man or ‘Ellan Vannin’ resides in the middle of the Irish Sea. Despite its close proximity to Britain, the Isle of Man is a separate entity from the United Kingdom.

It is a self-governing region on all domestic matters aside from national defence, which is legislated by the U.K. government. The English common law influences Manx customary law, but the Isle of Man retains its own unique features.

The island is commonly referred to as a ‘Tax Haven’ because of its twenty percent cap on income tax. There is also no inheritance, corporate, or capital gains tax. Aside from tax policy, the Isle of Man has several different rules and regulations in comparison to the UK. Many of the roads do not have speed limits, which is particularly useful for those sixteen year-old drivers who just obtained their licenses one year prior to their British counterparts. The voting age is sixteen, too. Isle of Man abolished the death penalty nearly three decades after the U.K. It is also interesting to note that criminal law is codified under the Manx Criminal Code 1872, whereas the U.K.’s criminal law system is not codified. The decisions

handed down by the Manx Courts and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are legally binding precedent in the Isle of Man. English case law plays a persuasive role on the Manx legal system. In other words, if the case law is relevant, then common law can act as a guide for the judge – but they are under no obligation to follow it.

In the new legal world, there is a contentious debate as whether the Isle of Man should join the European Union. There is widespread appeal amongst its inhabitants to join. It is to the region’s detriment, if the government does not respond. Rather than joining as an independent member, the Isle of Man should become part of the U.K. In turn, the region will automatically become a member of the EU. Currently, the Isle of Man is within the ‘customs territory’ of the EU. Although the free movement of goods are permissible between the Isle of Man and other EU-member states, there are restrictions on movement of capital and services. There are, however, potential problems that can arise from the Isle of Man’s membership in the EU. Most importantly, the region will lose its autonomy. The notion of selfDicta | 2014 Page 55

governance will be an afterthought.

There will be drastic departures from previous laws, rules and conventions.

Yet, the pros still far outweigh the cons. The economic growth and prosperity of the region will remain due to the free-flow of goods across jurisdictions. By joining the UK, the Isle of Man will gain an international status in relation to foreign policy.

It will also help to strengthen and preserve Tynwald - the longeststanding continuous Parliament in the world. Despite many fears, the adoption into the UK and EU will be beneficial for an island as small as Man, especially at a time when the legal world is continuously evolving.

Ella Ennos-Dann is a second year LLB student and will be studying abroad in Japan next year. She hopes pursue a career at the Bar.

THE CHANGING LEGAL LANDSCAPE OF NORTHERN IRELAND COOPERATION BETWEEN COMMUNITIES?

Legislative measures to quell peace in Northern Ireland

by Ciara Corrigan

T

he history of Northern Ireland is complex. Created less than a century ago and consisting of a population bitterly divided into Nationalist and Unionist communities, it is hardly surprising that the region’s short history has been riddled with conflict. The Northern Irish legal landscape has been shaped by anti-terrorism measures and reconciliatory legislation such as the Good Friday Agreement. Whilst the GFA succeeded in putting an end to the period of unrest known as the Troubles, it has yet to be seen whether it will result in long- term peace and provide socio-political cohesion within the region.

As a reaction to increasing unrest and paramilitary activity in N.I., the British Government introduced a number of Prevention of Terrorism Acts that provided security forces emergency powers in relation to suspected terrorist activity (1974-1989). Perhaps the most controversial move was the reintroduction of internment (1971). This empowered the police to detain indefinitely and without trial anyone suspected of involvement with a terrorist organisation. However, like many special measures, they can be readily abused. Accordingly, this particular legislation had the effect of increasing rather than curtailing republican extremism, and thus it was abolished a few years later.

In the late 1990s, it was clear that the violence could not be ended through police and military action.

Eventually, political talks had commenced with hopes to negotiate a peace treaty. The GFA (1998) was passed by way of referendum between both Irish and Northern Irish voters.

Under the Act, the legal and political landscape was reformed with the attempt to create a balance of power between the two communities. A number of important provisions were set in place, including a bipartisan arrangement for power sharing, the limitation of the discretionary powers of the First and Deputy First Ministers, and the introduction of elections based on proportional representation rather than the traditional first-past-the-post model used in the rest of Britain. Shortly thereafter, what had remained of the special powers given to the police were reviewed, abolished and altered to fit in with recent UK anti-terrorism measures.

These were aimed at combating terrorist threats from a variety of different groups, most notably Islamic extremists.

These developments demonstrate that the law governing N.I. has shifted focus from suppressing a violent minority to creating a government based on cooperation between two communities. This peace, however, is incomplete. Civil war has ended, but sporadic outbursts of unrest highlights that tensions are omnipresent. Even though egalitarian provisos have created a more democratic system of governance, they may also have solidified a persisting social divide by demanding that the political parties must label themselves as Nationalist, Unionist or Other. Ultimately, the legal system of N.I. is one aspect of a delicate political balancing act aimed at appeasing two

diametrically opposed communities. Although there have been attempts to reconcile divergent interests - peace has yet to be achieved.

Ciara Corrigan is a second year LLB student originally from Northern Ireland. This is her second year contributing to Dicta, and she hopes to pursue a career in journalism.

Dicta | 2014 Page 56

FRANCE: A PLACE WHERE BAGUETTES ARE A FASHION ACCESSORY AND IT’S ALWAYS WINE O’CLOCK

by Sarah Cartin

I

study Law and French in Bristol and for my Erasmus year abroad, I’ve been jetted off to Tours to take a stab at the French legal system.

Much to my delight, the majority of people we have met here have defied the traditional stereotype of the French as too proud and often very aloof but instead, found them to be warm, affectionate and amazingly generous – especially with their vin!

As not many speak English here, wherever we go they are extremely encouraging concerning our woeful attempts to string together a sentence and are keen to give us a hand with our vocabulary so we don’t sound like something from the 17th Century. For the record – ‘sacré bleu’ is definitely not a thing.

We get a lot of support from the University and the lecturers even speak slower for us when it comes to the more complex areas of law, as we scribble desperately from the front row. Believe it or not, it’s not actually the legal side of the French experience that we struggle with, but rather the simple task of ordering food! Ordering from a menu is always a gamble and you find yourself holding your breath as you are approached by a plate of grey blobby pâté or sighing with relief when a sirloin steak is placed gloriously in front of you.

Howe ver, fear not! The French do actually find our bumbling and mixups endearing and once I even got a chortle from a waiter when he asked me how I’d like my meat cooked and I responded in a confused panic saying I’d have a Diet Coke... Please do not worry about making mistakes and don’t let that hold you back from

speaking because as painful as it is, it really is the only way to learn!

As difficult as it was going from the Bristolian delights of Spoons’ pitchers and Lounge Thursdays, we soon sought out Tours nightlife and before long; we were back giving it absolute pain au chocolat on the tiles. French pubs on the other hand are quaint and traditional but always buzzing with students and locals making the most of Happy Hour with bottles of rich red wine for a couple of euro and strong Belgian beers that would put you to sleep! I swear there are more Irish pubs here than there are at home in Northern Ireland! Similar to Spain and Italy, at 12am when you’re passed a bottle of vodka and told that the night is young, they’re not kidding. Brace yourselves for rocking up to your 8am (yes, apparently that is an acceptable time to begin the educational day) looking like a cast member of Les Misérables and necking copious amounts of café to survive your two hour lecture on the history of law! Je ne regrette rien!

Student life in France is vastly different to the clubs, socials and sense of community that the UK has to offer.

Due to the fact that higher education here is far cheaper and that it is a great deal easier to get into a good French university without much competition; you find a lot of students who don’t tend to take studying as seriously as they do at home. This means that it is really up to you to integrate yourself into the year group, during smoke and coffee breaks or plonking yourself down beside a loner on a Monday afternoon.

Independent study is expected and Dicta | 2014 Page 57

absolutely essential as despite the blasé attitudes of those around you, the workload really does pile up.

With regards to copying notes, the French are more than willing to lend you their typed-up lecture documents but it is up to you to choose wisely who’s to go for. Avoid at all costs the posers strutting about in actual suits with shiny black briefcases and the questionable lecture attendees who sit on Skype the whole time, whilst multi-tasking on Facebook and Solitaire!

So, living in France for the year... get yourself to the nearest TGV station and go see it! Public transport here puts the UK to absolute shame and it would be a cardinal sin if you spent your year sipping coffee from the same town when you have the likes of Paris, Marseille, Cannes and Nice a couple of hours down the tracks!

Tours is only 50 minutes outside Paris so for my 21st birthday, I decided to be an 8 year old princess and ventured to Disneyland, struggling against the wrath of tourism to use my French wherever I could. I have also headed south to Toulouse because I forgot what the sun looked like, stayed with friends in Bordeaux, which is another fantastic city in your year abroad options and have tickets booked for the Nantes Christmas Market in a few weeks’ time! Make the most of living the dream in central Europe and lap up as much of the culture as you can because before you know it, you’ll be back in Wills Library, drowning in Land Law and dreaming of brioche.

Bon courage, mes amis!

Sarah Cartin is studying Law and French. She enjoys living the dream in France with all the cheap red wine and she intends to do a Masters in Human Rights Law at Queens Belfast.

VIVA VALENCIA

by Terri Houston and Immi Palmer

S

truggling out of Valencia airport with more than 10 cases in early September, we arrived prepared for what we perceived to be a year-long summer holiday or ‘Freshers Round 3’. As we were soon brutally reminded, we are in fact meant to be studying law in a foreign language.

Thankfully, in Spain’s third largest city, the glorious sunshine, beautiful beaches and sangria on tap are enough to take the edge off.

Classes start as early as 8.30am - that is, if you actually have any classes to go to. The University administration is notoriously bad, so even if you know you should have a lesson, you’re likely not sure when or where it is, and probably don’t have any way to contact your teacher.

What’s more, Spain’s partiality to a fiesta means that many working weeks are only four days long. Or there might be a strike. Or perhaps the teacher would simply prefer to go swimming - this has actually happened. (Not that we’re complaining!)

When classes are on, you still have to get used to the Spanish teaching style. The average Spaniard knows that if you’re not shouting at your classmates and/or the teacher, you’re simply not participating. Furthermore, it is to be expected that your teacher will swear at you and mimic your foreign name because it is similar to the Spanish slang for ‘to get laid’ (sorry Immi). A far cry from the painfully silent tutorials we are used to. If you can get a word in edgeways, we discovered that there exists a completely separate legal vocabulary, the words of which are often identical to regular Spanish vocabulary. For example, sociedad = society and sociedad = company. Confusing? Very. After a few pages of our commercial law textbook, which had seemed suspiciously jurisprudential, it dawned on us that we had a lot to learn. Concerned that we would obtain awful exams results at the end of the year, we also approached our teachers with some questions. When asking which textbooks we needed to buy, one teacher responded with a simple, ‘I am your book.’ When asking another in which weeks we would cover certain topics, she replied, rolling her eyes, ‘We will start a new one when we finish the previous one, of course’ (common knowledge apparently).

We soon decided to grab the bull by the horns (Spanish quip) and concluded that if you can’t beat them, join them. ‘Mañana’ (tomorrow) and ‘no pasa nada’ (it doesn’t matter) were to become frequent words in our Spanish vocabulary. These phrases aptly sum up not only Spanish teaching but life in general, which is much more laid back than we are used to in the UK. Yesterday marked the three month anniversary of our flat being without an oven, the postal service defines ‘snail’s pace,’ and if you aren’t having a siesta for at least four hours a day you are not doing it right. Meals typically happen later here. Lunch (the biggest meal of the day) is normally between two and five in the afternoon, while dinner is never before 10pm. It is perfectly normal for young children to still be out with their

parents in the madrugada (early hours of the morning), while their UK counterparts would be sound asleep by 6pm.

The late-night dining in fact works in our favour, as you have the whole evening to catch up on things you didn’t do while you were asleep during the day. As a result, clubbing is also much later here - the night begins at 3am (when in Bristol you’d normally be stumbling home!). With €4 vodka, wine that costs less than water, and Miami-style open air clubs with white furniture and palm trees, we couldn’t be further from the sweaty, sticky basement that is Lizard Lounge.

Classes and clubbing aside, we have also both been trying to practice our Spanish at every opportunity: for the singleton, this translates into chatting to a constant stream of mildly-creepy Spanish men...while the happily taken one has to make do with the Spanish version of 50 Shades of Grey. Suffice to say we are having an amazing time and are growing more español by the day. Soon we will no doubt be arguing for no reason and spending more of the day asleep than awake...¡Bienvenido a España!

Terri Houston When avoiding studying law, Terri enjoys eating copious amounts of tapas, travelling to exotic European cities and listening to Spanish music.

Immi Palmer Immi enjoys shopping and travelling to other European cities.

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GOING DUTCH

G

roningen is great. Situated in the North of the Netherlands, it is in many respects quintessentially Dutch. It is picturesque with its canals, liberal in its attitudes, and everybody cycles! Seriously, everybody cycles.

It is unofficially known as the world’s cycling city. Groningen is a unique place to live, and I am enjoying my time here.

The city is compact and extremely well designed, with everywhere being easily accessible by bike. However, there is a little bit of an adjustment period for those of us born outside of the Netherlands. For example, the traffic light system at a busy crossroad junction will set all four lanes of bike traffic off at the same time. This is despite the potential for any person to head in any direction! It is organized chaos, but it works. Once you get used to the cycling, it brings a degree of freedom comparable to that of getting your driving licence.

Everywhere feels like it is just five minutes away, with the additional benefit that there is no nonsense finding a parking spot!

Most buildings in the city centre are beautiful and historic, looking like much of Amsterdam.

However, many of the more modern

by William Martin buildings are very progressive, and look almost alien to a native Briton.

Statutes, in particular, can be quite abstract. One such example, which I pass daily, appears to be simply a giant tree trunk! The city is also very lively; and by day the two main squares are often occupied with some sort of activity. When I arrived, there was a fair with theme park rides.

Three times a week there is a vibrant market, where one can purchase such things as Dutch cheeses, spices, or even tulip bulbs. And, as I write this, the main square (the Grote Markt) is being transformed so that it is ready for a big Dutch Christmas festivity.

Groningen offers a wide degree of modules for international students to choose from, and teaching is in English. However, the majority of the options are at a Masters level, and so can be quite demanding. This is exacerbated by the absence of any teaching through tutorials or seminars here. In general, the modules are challenging but interesting. Most modules revolve around a theme of International and European law.

Energy law is a particular strength of the university here. There are also a few subjects available which are not about technical ‘black letter’ law. ‘War and Peace’ is an example, which I have particularly enjoyed so far. This has entailed a sociological perspective of international peace, and has made a refreshing change from the more traditional subjects at Bristol like property law.

The vast majority of the Dutch people here speak English nearfluently. Culturally though, they are much more direct in their speech. At first it can appear rude, but simply takes a little time to adjust to. Furthermore, people are very progressive and liberal here. It is not overly rare to see people driving some very alternative forms of transport like giant, motorized clogs!

The city also has numerous ‘coffee

shops’ and two red light districts.

Compared to home, the people may appear a little crazy. In reality though, they are just less reserved than us, and also seem happier. The 2013 European Commission Survey identified Groningen as the happiest city in Europe - part of this is almost certainly due to the fact that students make up a quarter of the population here!

Within the large student population, there is a very strong mixture of international students from all over the world. Spaniards and Brazilians are almost certainly the two largest groups of foreign students here. This is due to the economic crisis in Spain, and a large number of government subsidies in Brazil. They are some of the liveliest people here, particularly the Spanish, who have often shared large quantities of sangria.

Going out is one ubiquitous aspect of student life worldwide. The clubs here aren’t particularly large, but there is a lot of variety. This extends to the drink selection, with one bar offering over 100 different varieties of beer. Going out here is different from home in the sense that you get to meet people from all over the world; it is nice getting to know people from different cultures.

To conclude, I must quickly mention the most surprising aspect of my time so far: the weather. It is actually just as bad here as back home!

It rains a little bit less, but it is much less predictable. That aside, I would highly recommend an Erasmus year in Groningen. You get to experience a new culture, and the generous Erasmus grant allows you to enjoy yourself. The city is great, the people are interesting, and it is an experience I am glad I have taken.

“It is not overly rare to see people driving some very alternative forms of transport like giant, motorized clogs!”

Dicta | 2014 Page 59

William Martin is currently an Erasmus Student in Groningen, the Netherlands; enjoying life abroad and hoping to become a solicitor after graduation.

POITIERS, FRANCE

by Laura Davidson

O

h brilliant...Where is that?’ The inevitable response to telling people you live in Poitiers - and to be fair, my first reaction too. A quick Google search tells you that this elusive town is about half way between Paris and Bordeaux, and I can describe it best as typically, well, French. It’s a small, quintessential town far removed from the Bristol bubble, so takes some getting used to. But after a few weeks of getting acquainted with the area I grew fond of the bakeries (obviously), cobbled streets and even the perpetual accordion-playing outside my apartment.

The University itself is also very different. Set on a campus about a 10-minute bus journey out of the city centre, with alumni such as Descartes to its name, it too retains a provincial air.

Halfway through one lecture there was a collective gasp and murmur of excitement from the students.

Isn’t the power of technology incredible? Another lecturer always takes his classes in full legal robes. As you can probably tell, it’s an entirely new experience of education.

Of course, in terms of studying Law, the most obvious difference is the fact that the French legal system is set down in a civil code, which is their primary legal source. Imagine, no endless lists of cases to learn! I’ve yet to completely make my mind up about this common law/civil law distinction – in theory the existence of a code is logical and makes our studies easier, but sometimes I miss the case law and flexibility of the English system. I’ll probably be eating my words this time next year.

Last semester I studied a broad range of subjects to maximise the variety and experience, such as Constitutional Law, European Organisations, and Liberties and Fundamental Rights. Lectures in French were challenging at first, and I had Word Reference on permanent standby, but you overcome the language barrier surprisingly quickly.

The method of learning seems to be based on memorising key information given in lectures and repeating it in exams, most of which are spoken, in a kind of interview with the lecturer, rather than written. No further reading or journal articles! The very inclusion of footnotes in an essay is seen as nothing short of a stroke of genius, and in our travaux dirigés (essentially tutorials, but with a definite ‘school’ approach compared to the Bristol tutorials), Wikipedia is the only source of information, for students and tutors alike.

Of course, this wouldn’t be an accurate account

“Celebrity guest?

Student demonstration?

No, the source of the commotion was down to the fact that our lecturer had started a PowerPoint presentation.”

of life in France without a mention of the administration.

Even though I’d been warned countless times about the impossibility of getting anything done quickly and effectively in France, there’s nothing that could have prepared me for the sheer volume of paperwork. Leaving home I remember feeling oddly smug that I’d left nothing out – insurance, proof of address, bank details, university confirmation, all contained in a bulging folder which was attached to my person for the first month in France. Trying to sign up for CAF (a great system where you can claim back a decent amount of your rent each month) I was asked for my birth certificate, translated into French and stamped by an official translator. I slunk away, defeated by the notorious admin.

Yes, there’s a reason why bureaucracy is a French word.

One of the bonuses of living here for a year is that you can use the opportunity to travel around France and other places in Europe. What are Erasmus grants made for, eh? I’mlooking forward to trips to Brussels, Bordeaux and Toulouse in the next couple of months. Smaller but still lovely perks include French markets, wine and a bit of extra sunshine. Despite all that is bizarre about living in France, I’ll miss the relaxed, baguette-eating way of life in this sleepy French town when I’m drowning in a sea of trusts and dissertation next year.

Outside her university studies, Laura Davidson has spent her year abroad visiting different cities, sampling French wine and café-hopping.

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SEA, SNOW AND SAUNA WITH A SIDE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

by Helen Peden

H

elsinki is a city of contrasts. A melting pot of Scandinavian and Russian culture, its long history of straddling the East and West is evidenced in its architecture, culture and languages. The area contains a unique blend of city and nature; the bustling of urban life side-by-side with the seaside serenity which stretches past the harbour, to the numerous pine-thick islands which dot the Finnish shores. In the perpetual daylight of summer, these streets and shorelines are thick with activity, slowly emptying until only the icerink skaters on the square will brave the minus-twenty-degree winter air.

As an exchange student, the city is a hub; compelling us on cross-border adventures, to the neighbouring states of Estonia, Sweden, Norway and Russia. Meanwhile, for locals, Helsinki is very much a home; a place where many grow, study and live for most of their days (save for the summers, which are spent in log cabins by the lakes).

Helsinki is a hospitable city.

The Finns - at first timid and often shy – can take some time to warm to strangers. With some patience and charm, their quiet exterior is surpassed, and a Finnish friendship is worth all the effort of crafting one. The Finns enjoy silence, a trait which can be somewhat eerie and unnerving to “talkers” such as myself. For us, mindless speech to fill silences will, all too often, be met by bemused looks from Finnish faces.

The Finns are also, on the whole, good law-abiding citizens.

They will never cross without the green man. And any attempt to do so will be frowned upon. There is, however, a definite comfort in the knowledge of such security when the

lack of daylight in the winter months makes walking home in the dark a daily occurrence. Even at 3pm. Good English is spoken by all, a fact for which I am thankful almost every day.

Yes, “oikeustiede” is the translation for “law”. I continue to grapple with the simple “mitä?” (what?) and “kiitos” (thank you). Members of the Helsinki exchange student community, over 1000 strong, have the good fortune of dealing with the challenges of our new Nordic home in close proximity.

Several exclusively exchange student halls have been established around the city in recent years offering affordable accommodation and the chance to live in close proximity with students from all over the world. This year, my flatmates come from not just the UK but also Spain, France and the Caribbean.

The stark contrast between Bristol and Helsinki as cities is paralleled on comparison of their respective universities. New-age architecture, and a keen love for the colour white, has transformed the Helsingin Yliopisto campus into something which more closely resembles a modern art gallery than the historical university buildings of the UK. If Bristol’s Wills Memorial Building is of Harry Potter; Helsinki’s ‘Kaiso-talo’ is of Star Wars.

Fortunately, the disparity of my host to my home university does not stretch to the standard of teaching.

The Master’s Courses in International Law - from which exchange students select their credits - are vast and varied, stretching from EU Market Regulation to the International Law of Treaties to Russian Business Law. As most courses only count as 2 to 6 credits (out of a compulsory 60) and can last as little as a single week, there

“I have found that Intermediate courses, such as International Human Rights Law or Migration Law, entail a very manageable workload whilst still providing engaging course substance.”

Dicta | 2014 Page 61

is a real opportunity to diversify your knowledge and explore somewhat ‘niche’ areas of international law. This is facilitated by the freedom of choice between Basic, Intermediate and Advanced level courses which cater for native and non-native English speakers alike. This vast variety of topics is enhanced by the credibility of the teaching staff, which includes notable names such as Jan Klabbers and Martti Koskenniemi to name but a few.

However, for the native English speaker, advanced courses present more challenging material as well as the opportunity to research some niche areas of law. One such example is the Advanced Course on International Law from a Historical United States Perspective. This module ended with a 4000 word research project on President Lincoln’s ‘Laws of War’; a task which is no mean feat.

Both the efficient organisation and valuable teaching of these courses are a direct result of the special emphasis placed upon the study of International Law at HY. Their aim to play a key role in international legal education is evident in their creation of the specialist master’s programme which is over three-hundred students strong. It is this focus which makes the institution an ideal location for exchange study.

My experience of this unique little city has been enriched both by the travel which it has permitted me to pursue and the diverse but specialised teaching which I have here received.

As such, my brief little life in Suomi – the land of Santa, snow and (most importantly) sauna – has been a happy one, and a trip to work, study or explore Helsinki is a trip which I must highly recommend.

Helen Peden is a third year law student from Northern Ireland. She is currently enjoying an ERASMUS year in Finland before returning to Bristol to complete her LLB degree and apply to the Bar.

STUDYING LAW AT THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

by George Avery

S

ingapore is the departure lounge of Asia. Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Cambodia, Vietnam and many more fascinating and unique countries are only a short flight away. I arrived in Singapore hoping to visit a vast swathe of South-East Asia during the first semester.

However, I soon realized that my plan was overly ambitious.

I was driven to study hard by the 10% weighting attributed to the year abroad, and the Asian work-lack-of-life balance quickly took over. For me, the first semester at the National University of Singapore (NUS) required a tough choice, between adventure and study. I chose the latter.

My motivations for applying to study at NUS were twofold: I wanted to explore a distant and diverse region of the world, and I desired international experience to bolster training contract applications to city law firms.

Thus far, my passion for travel has not been completely satisfied. Other than seeing the sights and attractions in Singapore, which are plentiful, my only travelling has been to spend a weekend in Kuala Lumpur. This entailed a truly amazing couple of days touring the capital of Malaysia, visiting global landmarks such as the Petronas Towers and experiencing the traditional Malay lifestyle. To rectify my dismal record of travel and adventure, I will be spending the Christmas break in Australia and Indonesia, visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Bali and seeing the Sumatran Orangutans. I cannot wait!

As aforementioned, studying law at NUS can be extremely intense. Students take between three and five modules per semester, the contents of which seem generally larger than comparable law modules at Bristol. Each course has three hours of class-time per week, twice the amount provided by Bristol. Additionally, the majority of courses are examined through a form of continuous assessment, requiring the completion of mid-term assignments and class presentations. These three factors – larger modules, longer contact hours, and continuous assessment – produce a hectic and demanding academic environment. It permanently feels like the third term in Bristol: summative exams are never far away.

The frenetic speed of study is made more bearable by the wide variety of stimulating modules offered by the law school. There are classes in Maritime Law, Commercial Law, and Asian Law, as well as modules with a practical basis. Since there are no compulsory modules for exchange students, I was able to capitalize on the extensive selection of electives. For example, I studied ‘International and Comparative Oil and Gas Law’ and ‘Ocean Law and Policy in Asia’. These courses are contemporary, have a practical application and have sharpened my commercial awareness in key business sectors. It is noticeable that such a range of modules is not offered by Bristol, I think the limiting factor is resources. NUS imports overseas professors to conduct ‘intensive’ elective modules. In a style that typifies Singapore, an entire module is crammed into three weeks, with an exam to follow roughly a month later. By the end of my intensive in Oil and Gas Law, I felt mentally exhausted but, in hindsight, enjoyed the opportunity of studying this

niche area of the law.

NUS has a fantastic global reputation and the facilities are unbelievable. My hall of residence (UTown) has an infinity pool which is free for student use. There can be no better revision- break than basking in the Singaporean sun in the UTown pool. There is also a climbing wall, gym and large-grassed area to play football, on which I have enjoyed a number of games with fellow exchange students.

Unfortunately, unlike Bristol, there are no student bars and UTown is supposed to be an alcohol-free area. This is characteristic of NUS’s attempts to outlaw all hedonistic activities. It therefore requires a 20-minute journey to the nearest establishment selling beer at a reasonable price.

Although, the presence of an infinity pool clearly outweighs this minor inconvenience.

Singapore is an ultra-modern, fast-paced and multicultural city. Such a description would perhaps suit a multitude of cities; however, Singapore really does push each element to its extremes. The modernity of Singapore is evinced by its skyscrapers. Marina Bay Sands, for example, has what looks like a giant surfboard resting on the top, on which is another infinity pool.

Singapore’s cultural diversity is represented in its eateries. Side-by-side are shops serving Indian, Chinese, Singaporean, Korean or Japanese food. There is so much choice! For authenticity, you can even visit China Town, Arab Street, or Little India, and eat fantastic food in one of the many restaurants. Having just praised the diversity and quality of the cuisine, I wish to bemoan the food at UTown.

It is largely fried, greasy and there is a distinct absence of fresh fruit and vegetables. To compound the problem, the cooking facilities provided in the ‘self-catered’ apartments consist of a microwave; options are clearly limited.

The Singaporean nightlife is lively, vibrant, but expensive for guys. Unfortunately, I am a member of the unlucky 50% of the population, and usually have to pay $25 for entry as well as roughly $14 per drink. In contrast, ladies are coveted by clubs, and are generally given free entry and drinks for the entire night. Whilst this attracts plenty of women, it feels mightily unfair. However, as a shameless lover of Western pop-music, my grumblings quickly cease by the time I reach the dance floor.

Over the past four months, my educational experience has been fast-paced and draining. This is not what I anticipated (I thought only of travel), but appreciate that the long hours of study will well prepare me for the demands of year four in Bristol. Additionally, I have seen beautiful sites, met lifelong friends, and sampled a lifestyle that is completely unique. To use the cliché, it has truly been a once in a lifetime experience. I now prepare for my month of adventure.

George Avery contends he is not the ‘typical’ law student because he loves to play sport, football and cricket, whilst living on a farm in rural Derbyshire.

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I THINK I’M TURNING JAPANESE

by Jenny Cook

I

’m currently studying at the University of Kyushu, located in Fukuoka, in the South of Japan. I’m closer here to Seoul than Tokyo, yet there is no denying that Japan is different from anywhere else on earth.

Unlike the other Lawyers abroad, I’m not studying Law here but Japanese language and Culture, which means no dusty textbooks, no tutorials and no case law or statutes - a definite positive in my opinion! Learning how to adjust to Japan has been hard, as whilst on the outside, Japan has a very Westernised, modern feel, traditions here run deep, and whilst being a ‘gaijin’ (foreigner) will give you some passes, there are certain customs you must keep.

For example, always, always, take your shoes off when entering a home, to prevent outside dirt getting inside.

Also, be prepared to bow. A lot. And if you learn one word, it should be ‘suimasen’, meaning at once ‘excuse me’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ depending on the situation. Confused yet?

There is a certainly a lot more to Japan than what you can see on the surface, and living here for a year is an excellent opportunity to discover the ‘real’ Japan.

My course is mainly focused on Japanese culture, and I’m currently taking classes in Japanese History, Tea Ceremony, and Gender to name a few (although classes only last one term so I will have more choices next term). Here, I don’t even have to think about statutes and cases, and the law I’ve learnt so far amounts to the fact that dancing after midnight in a club is illegal! Japanese language classes aren’t compulsory but of course, recommended. The language is hard to learn – kanji looks like random squibbles to me most days, but being able to speak the language offers many rewards, and often respect and appreciation, from the locals. Overall, there is a very different way of teaching here, and whilst my experience is not identical to Japanese students’, there are similarities. For one, attendance for all classes is compulsory, and usually counts for a proportion of your final grade. If you’re more than 5 minutes late to the class, it’s counted as an absence, and for some classes, you automatically fail if you miss more than 3 classes – even if you are ill! Classes are also an hour and a half long, meaning for very long days requiring much concentration; sometimes I have class from 8.40am until 6.10pm. Whilst I have more contact hours, this balances out as there is less work to do outside of class. One bonus of being in university most days is highly subsided meals from the university cafeteria – I can get a filling meal for around £2 which is an absolute bargain.

My course also offers me opportunities to go on ‘study trips’ – heavily subsided outings to experience Japanese culture, and so far I’ve been lucky enough to go visit a Japanese castle, go rice harvesting, and even watch sumo all for free. We are also given a good support system – a tutor who helps us settle in and set up bank accounts (incredibly hard when one cannot read any documents), a conversation partner and a host family who all act as

friends and guides when needed. Furthermore, as Japanese terms are different to those in UK, the school year actually starts in April not September, meaning that I have a 2 month break in February and March. This is when most international students travel around Japan, or even further afield in Asia. I will focus most of my travelling within Japan, although I’m hoping to go on a side trip to Seoul for a weekend at some point as it’s so close! Japan has a lot to offer – from temples, geishas and gardens in Kyoto; to history in Hiroshima, as well as many festivals (matsuri) where huge elaborate floats are paraded around town with traditionally dressed Japanese people, street stalls and a lively atmosphere - why would you want to go anywhere else? And don’t even get me started on the food...the sushi here is undeniably the best in the world, and there is a wide range of tastes and exciting menu choices to suit everyone - even the most fussy. Japan has a definite knack for putting a Japanese twist on other countries’ classics; Japanese curry anyone? Or what about pork tonaktsu, based on German schnitzel? However, this can mean it’s hard to find ‘authentic’ foreign food, and the main downside is most homes don’t have ovens, meaning English staples like pies and roast dinners are sorely missed.

I feel very lucky to have been afforded the opportunity to live and study in Japan. It is a beautiful country, with many diverse sights and seasons, from the red momiji trees in August, snowy Winters, cherry blossoms in Spring, and sub-tropical Summers. Each season also brings new festivals, foods and activities, from skiing to sunbathing with vastly changing temperatures. Being an isolated island nation for over 200 years has meant that tradition lingers on in Japan despite modern mostly Western influences, and there are always different things to see, do, taste and try here. If you’re looking for a completely distinctive cultural experience that you won’t find anywhere else in the world, Japan is the place for you. Dozo, yoroshiku onegai shimasu.

“Overall, there is a very different way of teaching here, and whilst my experience is not identical to Japanese students’, there are similarities.”

Jenny Cook is a 3rd year LLB student, currently studying abroad in Japan. She is the Study Abroad Editor for Dicta and Senior Manuscript Editor for the Bristol Law Review.

Jenny hopes to climb Mount Fuji in August.

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A LETTER FROM THE UBLC PRESIDENT To finish, I would like to wish you all the very best for the remainder of the academic year and every success for the future.

Best Wishes,

Daniel Bishop

T

his year has seen the UBLC and the Law School place a heavier emphasis on career focussed events alongside the array of other existing extra-curricular activities that we traditionally offer. We knew that these types of events were sought after, yet we were astonished by the unprecedented number of members that signed up for all of the skills workshops that were organised in conjunction with our sponsors. I hope that these workshops have proved to be a helpful tool in the development of our members core skills in order to help them produce that all important successful application, whether it be for a workshop, vacation scheme or training contract. A special thank you must be extended to Nicole Wong (Careers Secretary) and her team for their tireless work helping make these events a tremendous success.

I would also like to thank the UBLC Committee for all of the dedication and hard work that they have shown over this year. As President I could not have asked for a more dedicated and enthusiastic team of individuals and it has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work with them.

This year the UBLC has had an incredible amount of support from the Law School who have been extremely supportive in helping us provide our members with an array of extra academic and careers related support. A special mention must be given to Ardavan Arzandeh, Caroline Andrews, Celia Wells, Dave Cowan, Matti Punt, Maureen Owor, Nicholas Pointon, Oliver Quick, Pat Capps and Vijay Chandy (to name a few) who have gone out of their way to co-ordinate and facilitate Law School and UBLC activities throughout the year.

Of course I must also say a special thank you to all of our sponsors for the 2013/14 academic year, without whom many of the UBLC’s activities just would not happen. Finally, I would like to say thank you to all UBLC members whose continued support has been instrumental in achieving what the UBLC stands for today.

Dicta | 2014 Page 64

THE HUNT CUP DEBATING COMPETITION

by Aaron Lee - Chair of the Debate

T

he Hunt Cup debating competition, named after Lord Hunt of Wirral, has been a long established competition at the University of Bristol Law Club; pitting the quick thinking, strong minded and argumentative against one another in a battle of words to earn the respect of their peers respect and gain the judges’ vote of confidence.

This year’s competition has been through extensive renovation and refinement to provide students with even more opportunities for students to become better lawyers, better debaters to become more employable.

The first change is enshrined in the values which both the UBLC and DAC Beachcroft share, the constant search for ways to give back to the community and help others. This year we have involved school pupils from a local school in the Hunt Cup– rewarding the pupils for their determination to further their knowledge and better themselves at school. The reward is to give them the chance to glimpse into life as a law student at one of the world’s top law schools and also to see into the life of a practicing lawyer at a first tier insurance and

reinsurance litigation law firm.

The second change is the chance to experience a business game workshop which began with a tour around the Bristol office led by DAC Beachcroft’s senior regional partner Tony Cherry, followed by games which many firms use during assessment centres.

Next, students acted as mentors teaching pupils from Gifted and Talented Programme at the Bristol Metropolitan Academy about the skills of debating. The workshop was rounded off with the school pupils putting in practice what they had learnt into numerous rounds of speed debating.

The third is that eight of the highest scoring individuals from the first round will be invited to a recruitment workshop with a senior recruitment manager and a fee earner to provide hints and tips to tailors the student’s application, improving their chances of securing a vacation scheme or training contract.

The launch night was a fantastic success with attendees including the ten representatives from our sponsor including two senior partners, and the schools pupils from the Gifted and Talented Programme along with 100 other university students.

During the launch night, we Dicta | 2014 Page 65

witnessed a stimulating debate which considered banning Islamic face veils in court; it quickly became apparent that not only were both sides very well researched but also incredibly passionate, as debaters took every opportunity to tear into their opponent’s arguments – even after the debate had ended. The competition was fierce, splitting the opinions of the audience; however, in the end, it was the opposing party which swayed the judges.

This year’s competition has seen an unprecedented level of interest, and a very high standard of debating. The dexterity, intelligence and wit of the talented competitors have continued to impress the judges.

Congratulations to all those who have participated in the Hunt Cup and best of luck to those awaiting their next debate.

MOOTING REPORT

by Andy Sanger and Lauren Webb - Master and Mistress of the Moot

T

he Mooting calendar began with the launch night in early October. Herbert Smith Freehills kindly sponsored the event and, with over 140 people attending, the evening was a resounding success. Those that attended were treated to a spectacular exhibition moot thanks to our finalists last year, Michael Bingham and Amy Oke. Wine and canapés were accompanied with some light networking with representatives kindly provided by Herbert Smith Freehills. Following on from the event, a workshop was organised by the Master and Mistress of the moot to give more in depth detail and advice.

This energetic start was continued, thanks to huge interest from first and second years in the sign ups. Both competitions were hugely oversubscribed with over 100 people chasing 64 places in the first year competition. A new emphasis brought by this years Master and Mistress of the moot was to bring in barristers and academics to judge from the start. The aim of this arrangement was to provide more networking opportunities for the mooters and to make the event more prestigious. Not only have the Master and Mistress of the moot been innovating the competition this year, the Senior Mistresses of the Moot have also been a very busy.

Whilst busy participating in and organising the BPP/OUP, ESU/ Essex Court, ICLR, NSLS and Inner Temple competitions, they also took it upon themselves to organise Bristol’s first ever intervarsity mooting competition.

They undertook the massive task of organising teams, judges, cases, rulebooks, venues, prizes, dinner and most importantly the wine all by themselves. So we are now proud to announce UBLC’s first ever inter-varsity mooting competition!

The big day is on Saturday Februrary 15th and please come and support us by watching the grand final at 16:30pm in the Great Hall. Afterwards there will be drinks, canapés and the chance to network with our sponsors, Slaughter and May and Bond Dickinson, local barristers and a Justice of the Supreme Court!

Following on from this fantastic event will be the finals of Bristol’s own mooting competition on the 12th March. As always it is a hugely popular event and a real showcase of student talent. If you are curious about mooting, here is an opportunity to witness it at it’s very best! Keep a look out for future emails giving further information on the event and be sure to come and support your University and friends!

Finally, we have some excellent news. In a closely fought final against strong opposition representing Lincoln’s Inn, a Bristol Mooting team were narrowly beaten finalists in the prestigious Inner Temple Inter-Varsity one day Mooting Competition. The Bristol team (represented by Thara Goplan (3rd year) and Natasha Miller (2nd Year)) impressed in 4 earlier rounds to reach the Final, where, after a strong showing before a demanding bench of three judges (all leading Barristers), they were narrowly shaded by an impressive Lincoln’s Inn team.

We must give a huge thank you to Herbert Smith Freehills, our very generous sponsor. Without them, all mooting events would be simply impossible and we are very excited to be inviting them to Bristol to help judge the finals of all three mooting competitions so be sure to come down and network with a very prestigious firm who also undertake such a generous role in supporting our University!

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UBLC SOCIALS

by Emily Craxton - Social Sec

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o many, being a law student entails hours in the library reading pages and pages of horribly thick books. However being a law student at Bristol really has its advantages. As one of the largest societies at the university, the UBLC’s social calendar is always exciting and diverse. From sports socials to extravagant law balls, this year has continued to be a success, and the socials have kept the extended first academic term lively!

The beginning of the year saw the first years settle in, with both a fresher’s trip to Cardiff and a casual drinks event at Alter Ego. Following this was the Parenting Social, which was the first big event of the year. The night involved many ‘law families’, put together by the buddy scheme, getting to know each other over dinner. As eager first years should, the law children went all out with

the fancy dress wearing onsies and dummies. The law parents also did not disappoint. Instead of opting for the middle generation fancy dress

(which would provide an excuse to dress relatively normal), they followed the tradition to dress as the elderly.

So with talcum powder poured over heads, and wearing the frumpiest outfits possible, the parents proceeded to take their babies out in Bristol and the night was a huge success. Also with many families extending to including more siblings, aunties, step fathers or grandparents (anything goes), the event continues to form a lasting support network for the first years.

The Champagne and Chocolate social provided a good excuse for a slightly more relaxing

evening in Browns. With champagne flowing and plenty boxes of Thornton’s chocolates, nothing could go wrong!

Following its previous success, the Law Careers Dinner again proved to be a real highlight. The event, launched only last year, is sponsored by ten top law firms and provides an excellent networking opportunity. Members of the UBLC enjoy a three course meal in a stunning Harbourside venue and spend each course getting to know different representatives from three of the firms. The night ran very smoothly, with good reviews from both students and representatives!

Now on to the major event of first term; the Christmas Law Ball!

Last year the theme was Great Gatsby, which was a great theme, but in light of the film became a little unoriginal. This year we wanted to put on something a little different. The chosen theme, The Nutcracker, definitely allowed for Dicta | 2014 Page 67

this as we had a 35ft Helter Skelter in the venue! Though not ideal for those in dresses, the threat of a carpet burn didn’t stop anyone having a go.

Entertainment ran throughout the three course meal, with impressive acrobatics and performers bringing giant presents and candy canes to life. Later on the night was filled with dancing, a brilliant live band, a sweet shop and the always loved photo booth.

After Christmas the UBLC is excited to hold many more socials.

These will include the infamous Lawyers v Vedics social, the Spring Ball and the Summer Party! We are also hoping to sign up a group of law students to run in a charity 5k, to bring a slightly different dimension to socials around exam time!

Looking over the year so far, it has been great working with the rest of the UBLC committee and I’d really encourage first years to get involved.

My only advice for those interested is that it is more time consuming than it looks, so make sure you get involved in second year, not third!

REMINISCING THE BEST UBLC DLA PIPER FRESHERSí TRIP

by Collin Cheong - Vice President

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his year, the UBLC brought a group of 60 Freshers to Cardiff, one of UK’s most historic and cultural cities. The trip took place from the 4th – 6th October 2013 and was filled with exhilarating fun. Of course, the trip would not have been possible without our long time and very generous sponsor DLA Piper.

Arriving at the Nomad Hostel in the evening, we wasted no time devouring the sumptuous selection of pizzas catered by Dominos before proceeding to prepare for our nights out. Decked in our classic Superman theme “Super Fresher” T-shirts, we gathered at the nearby park just outside the hostel. Pre-drinking games went beyond the standard “Truth or Dare” or “Ring of Fire” reason to abuse alcohol. Let’s just say some games involved a good showing of physical strength at the Fitness Corner.

For example, Andy Sanger topped the pull-up race with a whopping 19 reps at one go!

After having a little too much alcohol and all worked up with excitement from the games, we set out to conquer one of Cardiff ’s most famous clubs called Glam. Although there was a classic long queue outside the club, Bristol Lawyers were of course treated as royalty. Not only did we skip the queue, but also all of us were brought to the VIP section of the club where we partied the night away!

Safe to say, some of us had trouble waking up the next morning.

However, threatened with a forfeit to be dressed in a ridiculous Crocodile Onesie for failure to wake up on time, we managed to ready ourselves for an exciting day of Paint-Balling.

On reaching the Paintball site, I believe some of us were shocked at how powerful the guns were and

were apprehensive of tormenting ourselves even further in a hung-over state. However, I must say, we were quite a sporting bunch and were not afraid of taking a leap of faith to try our hands at Paintballing. That said, the moment all of us stepped onto the battlefield, there was some serious tactical planning, shooting and ultimately competition going on! I was certainly most impressed with the valiant displays of leadership, courage and soldiering skills! People were

actually diving head first into the mud and sprinting across the woodlands.

Despite the unavoidable bruising from getting shot at, all of us had an amazing day. Whilst exhausted from the night before and after an entire day of physical exercise, we were still rearing to go for another night of partying. This time, we completed a bar crawl route along Cardiff ’s favourite bars and destroyed yet another popular club, Oceana, in style.

By the last day, we were completely drained but happy. After Dicta | 2014 Page 68

a luxurious serving of appetizers and traditional Sunday roasts at a wonderful restaurant called the Meating Place, we set out to complete our final activity – The Cardiff Amazing Race. In groups, Freshers set out to discover the history and culture of Cardiff completing challenges at each checkpoint. Personally, it was probably one of most enjoyable part of the trip. As for a moment in time, we had the opportunity to walk around the city and embrace its beauty. Given the hustle and bustle of our everyday school life, it was a nice slow break.

The final checkpoint was back at the hostel. After all the teams had returned, it was time to head back to Bristol.

I believe on the bus back, all of us felt more than satisfied with how the trip went. It was not just the partying or the fun and well organised activities that made the trip such a success.

What made the trip memorable and successful is ultimately the company and new bonds of friendship that we made. As such, I would like to take the opportunity here to thank all the Freshers and UBLC Committee Members who were integral in the planning and execution of the trip. For me, the greatest reward from the trip was not the token of appreciation you guys presented me at the end of the trip but the privilege I had to get to know each and every single one of you better. I would highly recommend any incoming Freshers to participate in the trip next year and I am sure those on the trip this year would recommend the same thing.

Yours sincerely,

Collin Cheong Mun Chun Vice President, UBLC

UBLC SPORTS 2013-2014

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by Miles Pope and Freddie Mehlig - Male Sports Reps

ports are a great way to meet and get to know your fellow lawyers across all years of study. Considering this, the UBLC encourages our lawyers, both male and female to get involved in the UBU Intramural league. This league allows societies, Halls of Residence or even groups of friends to enter teams and play each other throughout the year. Our UBLC teams are open to everyone, regardless of experience or background and take a much needed break from studying! That’s the great thing about intramural sport at the University of Bristol; it doesn’t matter if you’re the next Cristiano Ronaldo or have never played before, just come and have a laugh!

The UBLC caters for three different sports for men: football, rugby and basketball. This year we were extremely keen to get more participants in the squads and are extremely privileged to have such generous sponsors who enable us to do this! UBLC FC have made massive progress this year with the introduction of a second football team following an impressive intake of Freshers. Both teams, sponsored by Freshfields, are competing well in their respective leagues and the players have all gelled into a solid team. The Senior XI, having entered a higher standard of league this year, have adjusted well and sit comfortably in mid-table. The Freshers XI are challenging for the title and currently sit third in their division following an impressive start, with 10-2 their best result to date. The ‘Old Boys’ fixtures, where we invite UBLC alumni back for a day, have definitely been a highlight of the season so far, and is a tradition we will aim to continue in the future!

enabled us to get a very impressive looking kit!

Similarly, the UBLC currently has two female teams participating in the intramural leagues. Our netball team is kindly sponsored by silver-circle firm, Travers Smith and the hockey team has previously been sponsored

by Addleshaw Goddard LLP. The selected netball captains for this year are: Serena Crawshay-Williams (first year) and Amelia Newman (second year). For hockey, the captains are: Bella Hooke (first year) and Ami Patterson (second year).

Both of our ladies’ teams have performed steadily in the first half of the season. There is scope to increase the number of training sessions for both teams, and we are currently working to make that a reality. Last term, the main challenge was keeping participation numbers consistent, but we are optimistic about numbers this year.

As if the games were not fun enough, there are fortnightly socials to keep up the team spirit! Alongside the specific team socials, we also host some combined events to build more friendships and meet even more lawyers.

After the current intramural leagues draw to a close in March and exams are completed, the next big sporting event will be the annual Macfarlanes Cricket day. A certain favourite amongst the lawyers, this day is an informal way to network with potential employers, have a few drinks and play cricket in the summer sunshine! Then, following the summer exams, will be the UBLC Sports Tour to Budapest.

This year it will be open to all of the teams and we hope to make it the best tour yet! The tour will stretch over 2-3 days and will give our sportsmen and women the opportunity to play matches abroad, meet new people and experience European nightlife.

Finally, we try to organise inter-varsity games against various universities, and the next team we will be facing is the Nottingham University Law Society. It will be a great opportunity to showcase our skill and demonstrate why Bristol is the best! The event will be followed by a massive social with the Nottingham lawyers.

We believe that the sports teams are the best way to meet fellow lawyers within the society and build longlasting friendships with people in your year, other years, alumni and even staff! We urge anyone within the UBLC to come give it a go, you won’t regret it!

UBLC Sports 2013/14

The reigning basketball intramural champions, sponsored by Simmons & Simmons, began the defence of Sports are a great way to meet and get to know your fellow lawyers across all years of their title well, and hope to triumph again in the play-offs study. Considering this, the UBLC encourages our lawyers, both male and female to get during the second term. The UBLC rugby team, captained involved in the UBU Intramural league. This league allows societies, Halls of Residence

by Andy Sanger, had a mixed start to the season with a win or even groups of friends to enter teams and play each other throughout the year. Our and a loss, but are hoping to engage a wider interest from UBLC teams are open to everyone, regardless of experience or background and take a within UBLC as they move forwards into 2014 and in future much needed break from studying! That’s the great thing about intramural sport at the years. The team are being sponsored by Linklaters, who

University of Bristol; it doesn’t matter if you’re the next Cristiano Ronaldo or have never played before, just come and have a laugh!

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The UBLC caters for three different sports for men: football, rugby Page 69and basketball. This year we were extremely keen to get more participants in the squads and are extremely

CAPTURING THE COMMERCIAL WORLD

by Thara Gopalan

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he Commercial Awareness Programme (CAP) was founded on the premise of friends meeting for a casual conversation on the happenings in the commercial world. This idea has grown into an interactive series of workshops, analysing the impact of current events on corporate finance.

Each week, the CAP committee meets to discuss stories in the publications they follow and thereafter, to make decisions on what makes the cut for the fortnightly sessions. The committee take turns to lead these sessions, which include a general update on current affairs, an in-depth analysis of the effect of policies on corporate finance (for example, the effect of raising interest rates on the climate of mergers and acquisitions), a profile, a group activity and inevitably a discussion of something that popped up on Twitter.

CAP has the privilege of being sponsored by international law firms, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy. Each firm conducts one session during the course of year, and invites participants to attend a specially coordinated open day at their London offices. Freshfields took the lead last term, conducting a session on their definition of commercial awareness and leading a workshop on their famous analytical interview. At the open day, Freshfields conducted an impressive tour of the offices, followed by an interesting case study on competition regulation and a highly competitive negotiation exercise. The firm also brought down several trainees and associates who were able to provide attendees with a greater insight into the firm and the workings of various teams.

The CAP committee, comprised of Nicole Wong, Jack Moulder, Demi Pham, Abdur- Razzaq Ahmed, James Carter, Tamara Mackay-Temesy and myself, have been reviewing feedback from the course of the last term in efforts to make the programme as engaging and effective as it can be. We intend to build on the complexity of discussions as our participants become more commercially aware, and to focus on broadening perspectives and developing individual skill sets. CAP is also looking forward to interacting with Allen & Overy this term, who will be conducting a session in February and an Open Day in March.

“Each firm conducts one session during the course of year, and invites participants to attend a specially coordinated open day at their London offices.�

It is hoped that CAP will continue to grow in the years to come, capitalising on the expertise of various legal and business professionals and

institutions, to provide a more in-depth discussion of the issues. The CAP committee is especially grateful for its diversity of experiences and interests and hopes that committees would be equally, or more, diverse, combining the strengths and perspectives of lawyers and non- lawyers. As the programme continues to develop, it is hoped that future committees will receive more guidance enabling them to devise more comprehensive and insightful sessions.

Thara Gopalan is a final year LLB student who enjoys rock climbing and the theatre. She is an avid mooter and hopes to work in dispute resolution in the future.

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THE UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL BAR SOCIETY THE YEAR OF REVOLUTION

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013 has been a revolutionary year for the University of Bristol Bar Society. In just the fourth year of its existence, the Bar Society has taken things to a new level with a new (and snazzy) website, funding from five sponsors, and a whole new range of events. This society is a baby no longer.

The academic year began with the Society’s first-ever opening social at The Botanist, sponsored by St John’s Chambers. The event, which was the most over-subscribed event in Bar Society history, provided sixty students of all years and disciplines with the opportunity to network with barristers and pupils from St John’s Chambers, as well as the chance to get to know the committee and other members of the Society.

In the weeks following its launch, the Society held an ‘Introduction to the Bar’ talk, presented by the University of Law; a scholarship information session led by the Director of Education at Gray’s Inn; and a mooting workshop run by BPP to assist those competing in the Herbert Smith mooting competition.

The presentations were particularly well-attended by first-year Law students.

Later in the term, Gray’s Inn delivered an excellent panel presentation about the Inn. Students were then given the opportunity to attend a seminar on human trafficking hosted by the UWE Bar School, following which there was a networking session with barristers.

I won’t forget, of course, our alumni talk, for which we welcomed back Charles Coventry and Jessica Wood, ex-Bristolian barristers at St John’s Chambers, and Mike Blitz and Adam Griffiths, who recently completed the BPTC course in London. On 4th December, we also hosted a presentation from Brick Court Chambers, which provided students with insights into EU and Public Law. Of course, presentations are not all that we have to offer. For the first time this year, we ran a voice coaching

by Turan Hursit session taught by Debbie Chatting, a professionally trained voice coach.

Students perfected their posture and stretched their vocal chords in an hour-long training session, in time for the first rounds of the UBLC mooting and debating competitions. This term we also held our bail application demonstration and competition.

Spencer Turner, William McCready, Jessica Etherington, and Tyler Bowden outshone their peers to claim first, second, and joint-third place in the competition.

Most exciting of all was our annual networking dinner on 9th December, held at the beautiful Clifton Zoo Pavilion. No fewer than 34 practising judges, QCs, and barristers and 66 lucky students attended the event, which was the first of its kind in Bar Society history. The event succeeded in both informing students of the options available and showcasing the outstanding calibre of Bristol Law students to the local Bar. I hope that it will be continued as an annual tradition in future years.

The Bar Society finished off its first term of work with the lecturers’ moot, held on December 16th as a Bar Society-UBLC collaboration event.

Nicholas Pointon, Clair Gammage, Gemma Short, and Julian Rivers went head-to-head in front of a crowd of 100 students in the most entertaining legal battle of the year. The moot may not have been so daunting for the tutors had it not been judged by Alun Jenkins QC, an alumnus of Bristol University and criminal law practitioner at Queen Square Chambers. The judge entertained students and unnerved the competitors in a 90- minute showdown which raised £258.67 for the Avon and Bristol Law Centre. I’d like to once again thank the competitors for putting themselves into the mooting firing line for such a good cause, and the students who attended for being so generous with their donations.

The fun doesn’t stop there, though. Next term, the Bar Society will be running another twelve exciting events. The term will begin with our Dicta | 2014 Page 71

pleas in mitigation demonstration and competition, run in collaboration with the UWE Bar School. In February, we will be hosting a Bristol chambers panel talk, attended by barristers from a variety of chambers and practice areas, to inform students of their options at the Bar. Later in the month, students will have the opportunity to attend tours of the Inns of Court and Supreme Court in London. The Bristol Bar Society has also been invited to attend the universities dinners at the Inner Temple and Lincoln’s Inn. The dinners have been useful for those who have attended in previous years, with many students securing highly sought-after marshalling placements as a result. March will see the Bar Society host a negotiation workshop in collaboration with the University of Law and a talk presented by Blackstones Chambers, one of the Bar’s ‘magic circle’. Our hard work will then culminate in the annual Mock Trial at the end of March. Students will have the chance to play dress-up as witnesses and defendants, call the shots as jurors, or compete for the ultimate glory of the Field Shield as advocates in what has traditionally been the Bar Society’s most popular event.

In short, there has been – and will be - no shortage of information, advocacy competitions, and networking opportunities this year.

Your Bar Society committee began October with one aim: to make the Society bigger and better. We aimed for more events, more contact with the local Bar, and more members.

The result has been a doubling in the number of events and an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm from Bristol’s finest students.

It has been an honour to serve as your Bar Society President this year, and I wish the best of luck to next year’s committee.

Best wishes,

Turan Hursit

President, University of Bristol Bar Society 2013 – 2014

INTERVIEW WITH WENDY PHILLIPS

Phillips is the Senior Director and Head of Sotherby’s Tax and Heritage Department

by Elizabeth McDonald

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s a Senior Director and Head of the Tax and Heritage Department of Sotheby’s Auction House in London, Wendy Philips is responsible for the wide range of UK tax and valuation issues arising through the acquisition, ownership and sale of art at Sotheby’s in London.

Her role is essential for the smooth running of the London branch of this intimidatingly successful business. Sotheby’s was established by Samuel Baker, a bookseller, on 11 March, 1744 in London. It is now the largest art business in the world, with 90 locations in 40 countries, and expertise and sales ranging from fine art to real estate. In 2011, with the recession still looming, its global sales totaled $5.8 billion.

Wendy read Classics at St Anne’s College, Oxford before qualifying as a solicitor. She worked for more than ten years in private practice and then for HMRC before joining Sotheby’s in 2004. So, she is astoundingly busy. I first met her when I took an Art Law course at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, where she also regularly lectures. She very graciously gave up some of her time to allow me to ask her a few questions about her work, how she became a lawyer, and what she most enjoys about working in the art world.

Can you describe a ‘typical’ day at work for you?

That would not be easy: my days can vary enormously. Generally a combination of keeping the momentum going on ongoing projects while at the same time being ready to deal at short notice with anything my art expert colleagues might bowl me. I also travel around the UK a fair bit visiting clients in their homes, their lawyers, and UK museums.

When did you first decide to pursue a career in law and why?

I read Classics at St Anne’s College, Oxford and was not really sure what I wanted to do until my final year when I decided to enroll for the law conversion course. Even then I was not really convinced, but it’s all worked out well. I think you are very lucky if you can plan exactly where you think you want to be when you come out of law school, you just have to let your career evolve and keep an open mind.

As a lawyer, what attracted you to working in the art world? Did you always have an interest in art?

This is a personal thing, but for me I liked the idea of working in a commercial business being surrounded by people who were not lawyers themselves: as for the art, I had dealt with art related cases when working as a trusts and tax lawyer in private practice and so the opportunity to work in the heart of the art business in Sotheby’s, one of the world’s leading auction houses was an opportunity I could not pass by.

Which part of your current work do you most enjoy?

My colleagues and the buzz of the art business– I

am lucky enough to work with a group of diversely talented individuals many of whom are among the leading experts in their particular field in the art world. They are a great source of inspiration and also great fun to work alongside.

Never a dull moment! I also enjoy visiting clients with wonderful collections and feel very privileged to see amazing art works up close. It’s also great being able to watch the live auctions.

You are a member of the Heritage Group of Lawyers. Can you tell us a bit about the work of that group?

The particular tax code which relates to art and chattels in the Inheritance Tax legislation is one which is grounded as much in practice as in law: the Heritage Group of Lawyers provides an opportunity for lawyers who work in this relatively specialised area to come together from time to time to share their experiences and, where appropriate, lobby for change as a group with HMRC. You are also a founding Board Member of Professional Advisers to the International Art Market. For what reasons was this body set up?

PAIAM as it is known was set up by my friend Pierre Valentin, a partner in Constantin Cannon, who recognised that there are many “professionals” working in the art market who, while not art experts themselves, would benefit from some kind of networking organisation. There are seven of us on the Board and we hold four networking events a year which we help organising including our annual conference which took place at Sotheby’s last week and included talks on a range of topics such as internet auctions and the restitution of looted art.

Do you have any advice for current law students who aspire to become art lawyers?

Yes , remember that “art law” as such does not really exist as a separate corpus of law – it is a combination of many areas of the law ranging from taxation through to contracts, IP and of course commercial disputes. In my opinion it would be a mistake to seek to specialise in this area too early simply because there are not the jobs out there which are dedicated to “art law” alone. If you are interested in art and law, try to get a training contract with a firm which has clients in the art world and develop your interest alongside establishing your main field of expertise. It would also make sense to apply for an internship with such a firm, or possibly within one of the legal departments of the big auction houses.

Before joining the University of Bristol to start an MA in Law this year, Beth McDonald studied for a BA in Classics at University College, Oxford. She has a passion for history, art and culture.

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LAW AND ARCHITECTURE THE EVOLVING LAW FIRM

Law office architecture acts as a physical metaphor for the modern law firm

by Josh Thould

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f all contemporary legal architecture of the twentyfirst century, commercial law firm headquarters have the most credence. Law offices are the center of power of a firm; they act as an extension of their brand, a display of its culture and identity. They continue in the vein of traditional legal architecture; they are often imposing, grandiose and extravagant. Yet, they represent the twentyfirst century with a veneer of professionalism and crispness.

It is this statement of image that is just as important as the practical, everyday use of the office.

This statement is perhaps best exemplified in the UK by the two magic circle firms: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters. In 2012, Freshfields underwent a wholesale refurbishment of its principal London office, a stone’s throw away from the Royal Courts of Justice and in the heart of legal London. The office contrasts its black, almost menacing exterior, with a fresh white, lavish inner atrium. Linklaters similarly went under refurbishment in 2011, appointing architects Pringle Brandon with the

task of creating a rather stark and wintery sterile building.

Both exude an effortless style as well as a display of professionalism.

The use of the commercial law firm office as a brand statement is not exclusive to the UK. In America it is arguably even more pronounced. The culture of mountainous skyscrapers means that in major cities, such as New York and Chicago, this phenomenon is accentuated.

For example, a 3,867 square feet office on the 32nd floor of the iconic Chrysler Building was recently leased to a Washington D.C. based firm, Lewis Baach, providing an expounding graphic of the close relationship between

striking architecture and modern day law firms.

Looking eastward the trend continues.

Architectural design in Asia has often been accused of being ‘copycat’, and it is not without cause; architectural gems from across the globe have been cloned in China including a whole Austrian town, the Eiffel Tower and the entire Manhattan skyline. But there are also impressive original designs, to which law firms are attracted to. A good illustration is Jardine House in Hong Kong, which looks like a metallic block of Swiss cheese, comprising a metal frame covered with a curtain of rounded windows. It has attracted reputable law firms including Clifford Chance and it’s highly unusual design has earned itself an interesting but rather rude nickname: ‘A House of a Thousand ***holes’. Some say it refers to the porthole- like design, but it is mostly a stinging rebuke at both the company and the taipans who work within.

Law office design plays a vital role in forming and maintaining relationships with clients. Similarly, an attractive and pleasant working environment is important in attracting and retaining employees. So called ‘client floors’ exist, practically to divorce the public from the swathes of confidential documents; but their overstated luxury hints to another use, particularly when compared to the comparatively modest ‘employee floors’. In London, the Freshfields’ ‘client floor’ is at the upper-most level and has sweeping views over the city; it is gleaming white and almost palatial to the eye. Interestingly, commercial office design can work in the opposite way; clients can be intimidated by the modern law office and it not uncommon for a client to wish to do business elsewhere, away from the imposing and professional environment seen in many firms.

Architecture is not just used in an aesthetic way for the twenty first century law firm. The recent fiscal downturn has meant that they have to be increasingly efficient with their use of space, especially as they are located at the heart of the world’s densest and most expensive cities. Sustainability is also important. An efficient spatial layout can save costs by reducing energy consumption. For example, the Linklaters London office takes advantage of high efficiency luminaries, such as the ACDC low-voltage cold cathode, not only to make the office stylish, but also to lower energy consumption when compared to older offices.

Law office architecture acts as a physical metaphor for the modern law firm. It is an extension of the legal brand across the globe, displaying their identity, culture and wealth in a bid to attract clients as well as employees. Conventional legal architecture is seen to be imposing and striking in its form and it has found a way modernize itself in the today’s corporate legal world.

Josh Thould is a first-year MA Law student and King’s College London graduate. He is a member of Bristol Law Review, keen sportsman and aspiring commercial lawyer.

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LAW AND ARCHITECTURE MODERN COURTHOUSE DESIGN

The court house acts as the physical embodiment of an otherwise intangible institution

by Liam Galvin

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aw constitutes an ensemble of rules and regulations, a body that is ever expansive in its display of authority.

Whilst the law, in this sense, is devoid of a physical footprint, it is undeniably related to space and physical presence. The need for an impression of permanence and near divine status has been the driving philosophy behind the design of courthouses since their conception. In the pursuit of this image, the courts became increasingly isolated and embarked in the larger trend of widening the disconnect between the judiciary and public life.

This disconnect is embodied in architecture in two ways; firstly, the imposing masonry separating out from in symbolizes physical isolation, and secondly, elevating the perceived status of the courts through reverence of the wigged and gowned lawyers wandering beneath the high vaulted ceilings and through hallowed cloisters such as those of the Royal Courts of Justice. These features are what distinguishes and define a place of law to be precisely a place of law; they are markedly different to the outside world. It is through architecture that law paradoxically enforces itself as select, secluded and sacral and yet celebrates its regulation over an outside community of subjects.

Courthouse design philosophy need not be permanent but rather it should evolve parallel to the changing philosophies of justice. This should be done without the burden of history and tradition stubbornly impeding progress. There should be a renewed focus in courthouse modern courthouse design so that it is no longer for the purpose of raising the law’s perceived status, but for increasing its clarity and transparency. No longer should courtrooms be imposing fortresses and pretend to be a world hidden from the one it seeks to regulate. If the law is to project its justice onto the streets then surely this is best done through an open window. New courtroom architecture should be expansive, elegant, and clear, a constant reminder of the qualities the judiciary should

strive for.

The liberating effects of evolving architecture can be seen in the courthouse design of younger legal systems, such as those in the other commonwealth countries. Australia hosts leading examples of what can be accomplished with a forward-looking attitude to design.

Most notably, the High Court of Australia in Canberra marks a turning point in design philosophy that is aligned with modern perceptions of justice. As one approaches the High Court they are greeted by an expanse of glass leading into an airy and open atrium, which symbolises the openness and clarity that should be evident in any legal system.

Australia’s design revolution was not spontaneous; it was the sum of over a decade’s worth of collaboration between architects and judicial officers to discuss the challenges faced by courtroom architecture in a changing society. This exchange of views melded the thinking of users and designers into shared understandings of expectations and possibilities for the next generation of courthouses.

From this initial radical statement of design has come a number of themes that are now almost accepted orthodoxy for Australian courthouse design, an orthodoxy that will motivate future progress rather than impede it.

Courtroom architecture is the body from which the wider public draws its impressions of the law, and just as a human body changes with time so too should that of the law. The courthouse acts as the physical embodiment of an otherwise intangible institution, and as such it should be an accurate reflection of the institution’s ideology: progressive, transparent, and orderly.

Liam Galvin is a first-year LLB Law student and an aspiring solicitor, with an interest in banking and financial law.  

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REVIEW: TOM BINGHAM’S THE RULE OF LAW

T

by Robert Cox

here was something in the enthusiasm with which Professor Julian Rivers pitched Tom Bingham’s The Rule of Law that came a little too naturally for me to simply regard it as a tutor routinely plugging some dry “recommended” read. Clearly, this book was not destined to find itself in the scrapheap of legal literature that unfortunately would rarely leave the library shelf. A quick glance at the book’s appraisals left me with little doubt about its credentials; “everyone should read it”, one eminent critic wrote. That was enough for me.

Bingham cuts to the chase in the prologue. He declares his reason for taking on this particular investigation into “the rule of law” as, perhaps for want of a more ornate cause, one of simple trepidation. He sees, as have many academics, the slippery slope that lies ahead in the habitual reliance upon a phrase that has become so colloquial in its widespread use that its meaning has similarly become widespread.

Entrenched so deeply as it is in the way we theorise, constitute and apply law in the UK, Bingham strives to draw due attention to the potentially hazardous nature of this trend. The fact that “the rule of law” has been enshrined in British legislation as an “existing constitutional principle” brings home this rather portentous point for Bingham. There is no better time than now, he asserts, to demand greater clarity and consensus over the phrase’s meaning when ever heavier reliance is being placed on the principles that “the rule of law” is notionally supposed to uphold . This is especially so given the topic’s current resurgence in light of contemporary matters such as terrorism and the ever­relevant protection of individual liberties and rights from state

intrusion.

The book is divided up into three easily digestible parts. The first offers a sweeping introductory look at what “the rule of law” actually means in the context of UK law and its history. Bingham pays close attention to Dicey’s tripartite conception of the “rule of law”, and sets it up as the pillar from which burgeoning debate on the matter first arose. His treatment of this debate over how the concept should be formulated and articulated serves to underscore the wider issue at hand: that a true consensus on the matter seems to be as remote a possibility today as it ever has been.

Citing an array of modern scholarly opinion, he flirts with the idea that “it is tempting to throw up one’s hands and accept that the rule of law is too uncertain and subjective an expression to be meaningful”. But Bingham, of course, goes on to spend the rest of the book fiercely combatting this overly simplistic conclusion.

Despite the semantic minefield of issues that the phrase gives rise to, he possesses the conviction that there remains something concrete and accessible in the haze of abstract importance it is given as an ubiquitous touchstone for how society should be governed.

His working definition, which, he hastens to add, is in itself far from comprehensive or absolute, is explored across eight underlying principles, including the broad­ brush notions of accessibility of the law, equality, fairness and impartiality. Throughout, he strives to reaffirm the validity of “the rule of law” ­its reason, its substance and its function ­as a lynchpin for good governance in the modern democracy. In showing its overriding capacity to stabilise the inherently volatile relationship between those

“It is tempting to throw up one’s hands and accept that the rule of law is too uncertain and subjective an expression to be meaningful.”

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who rule and those who are ruled, he time and again points to its role as the boundary­stone by which we can measure and define the relationship between individual and state; he thus underscores its prevailing role as the glue by which society is held together.

In practice, he is all too conscious of the difficulties inherent in actually living up to the much­invoked ideal set by the “rule of law”. In his own words, however, it is “one of the greatest unifying factors” in society, and “it remains an ideal worth striving for”.

Perhaps its most praiseworthy quality, this book affords the reader an invaluable sense of clarity and cohesion it in its bold attempt to neatly unpack a phrase as cryptic and as open to constant ideological abuse as “the rule of law”. While being, at first, disparagingly self­conscious of the difficulty of the task he has set himself, Bingham manages to masterfully control the framework within which he goes about defining the constituent parts of “the rule of law”, without getting lost along the way. This, surely, comes as no surprise given the substantial judicial role he himself has played in upholding and applying “the rule of law” in British courts.

Robert Cox studied Classics at the University of Bristol. He is currently studying for the MA in Law. He wants to be a commercial solicitor.

LAW, FILM AND A NEW LEGAL WORLD AN INTERVIEW WITH REBECCA RICHMAN COHEN

by Emily Bueno

R

ebecca Richman Cohen has an envy-generating career. Rather than take the traditional route and practice law, Cohen has used her legal education to carve out a career as filmmaker and academic.

In doing so she has been nominated for an Emmy Award for her film War Don Don, which follows the trial of one of the rebel leaders in the Sierra Leone conflict, and is reviewed in this magazine. This put both Rebecca and the Sierra Leone Special Court – the war crimes tribunal – into the public eye. Her second documentary Code of the West, an elegantly crafted film about marijuana laws in Montana, has generated Cohen further acclaim. No wonder Cohen was listed in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces in Independent Film.

In between filmmaking, Cohen has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and Columbia University.

She is currently a law lecturer at Harvard University. What is clear is that Cohen’s hard work and passion, for both the law and filmmaking, has pushed boundaries, testing orthodox thinking and proving that a legal education does not have to result in a career as a lawyer.

After leaving Brown University with a BA in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Cohen worked in film for a couple of years, including as an assistant editor for the documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. She relished this opportunity, teaching her what a powerful medium film is to tell stories. However, she chose to go to law school instead of film school as it would give her ‘more tools’ to ‘tell stories well’. Unusually for a law student, Cohen did not see law school as a means to an end. Instead, she went knowing that she was likely to return to filmmaking. Cohen comments that what she most valued about her three years as a student at Harvard Law School was her learning to think more analytically, strategically and to think about social issues.

After a summer working for the public defenders service in the Bronx area of New York, Cohen wanted to gain more experience in defense work, which led her to work for a defence team at the Special Court of Sierra Leone.

This experience inspired Cohen to return, to make a documentary. The result was War Don Don, a film that explores the moral complexities of post conflict justice.

As Cohen has proved, film is an appropriate medium for a trained lawyer to work with. ‘Both lawyers and filmmakers are at their core story tellers’, Cohen explains. ‘They just have different audience and different ethical obligations’. Cohen notes that she is bound to make an honest and balanced picture. To achieve this, when filming War Don Don, Cohen visited both the prosecution

and defense teams. She was also mindful that her own politics may subconsciously have influenced the shape of the film. She did many rough cut screenings with different audiences – Sierra Leoneans and Westerners, lawyers and lay people, filmmakers, film lovers, and even a few who were generally indifferent to the art of documentary film.

She knew the film was finished when her audiences were reacting to the film in totally different ways.

Nonetheless, whilst Cohen does not attempt to coerce her audience’s views in a way a lawyer does, what is clear is that Cohen is testing orthodox thinking. The subjects she has documented are controversial – a war criminal and medical marijuana – and by honouring both sides of the debate she is inviting her audience to do so, too. But, what is she trying to achieve through her filmmaking? Why not practice as a lawyer? Certainly, Cohen acknowledges that it is possible to overstate what a film can achieve, but what has drawn her to film is its ability to generate in audiences empathy with a subject in a way in which the law cannot.

Justice is being served, but in a more holistic way.

The law can certainly be accused of being elitist.

Cohen wishes to take it out of lecture halls and courtrooms into the wider world. For example, she has partnered with civil society organizations in Sierra Leone to give screenings of War Don Don and to use the film to support their ongoing efforts to promote the rule of law and access to justice initiatives. In relation to Code of the West, Cohen partnered with the Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to give 20 screenings in small towns and public libraries in Montana in a civic engagement campaign about drug policy reform.

Cohen’s filmmaking is to be admired for undermining legal and social orthodoxy. Her talents do not stop here, however. In her role as an academic at Harvard she is involved in modernising legal education.

She is currently teaching students to use video in their law clinic work. This includes using video for evidence, public awareness campaigns and submitting videos to legislatures to change laws.

Cohen has learnt first-hand the power of film in the courtroom. When Tom Daubert was to be sentenced on federal drug charges, he did not know if he would be spending up to 20 years in prison or if the judge would be more lenient. Part of Daubert’s plea of mitigation included scenes from Code of the West in which Daubert showed off his facilities to state law enforcement official and politicians.

Daubert was sentenced to five years of probation.

Cohen is realistic, however, admitting that Code of the West alone did not produce such leniency.

Nevertheless, she believes in the power of her work. And so she should. Her passion for both law and filmmaking has made a productive marriage, reshaping the legal landscape in challenging and important ways.

Emily Bueno holds an M.Phil in Literature from Trinity College, Dublin. She is currently studying for the MA in Law.

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THE LAW ON SCREEN REVIEW: LAW DON DON

By Natalie Lim

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ar Don Don, meaning in Krio “the war is over”, is a documentary following the trial of Issa Hassan Sesay, a convicted war criminal and rebel leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

“..a tale of horror beyond the Gothic into the realm of Dante’s Inferno..” This is how Chief Prosecutor David Crane makes his opening statement at the start of the film, to its desired effect. Viewers are initially more or less convinced of Sesay’s evil, writing him off as a soulless murderer who wreaked havoc on a nation as we see footage of the 11 year conflict’s tragic aftermath. This is given further credence by the court’s verdict: “Guilty, guilty, guilty..”

As we soon find out though, this is not necessarily the case. Instead of pushing a particular narrative, the documentary allows viewers to develop an opinion for themselves through a montage of clips from the court camera, interviews with the heads of the opposing legal teams and footage of the situation in Sierra Leone. It adeptly

depicts Sesay, a senior military officer of the RUF, and guilty of criminal charges including unlawful killings, sexual violence, and war crimes as exactly what he is - human.

The result of the trial is revealed at the very beginning, thus allowing viewers to focus on issues of its procedure. War Don Don is not about Sesay’s guilt or the traumas inflicted upon the people of Sierra Leone during the conflict. Rather, it is about giving perspective to the institutional efforts to provide justice, to right history and rebuild lawless war-torn nations. As Crane so eloquently puts, “The question is whether the justice we seek is the justice they want,”

The film raises many interesting questions. In the context of war, what really constitutes a crime? And when a crime has clearly been committed, who should be held responsible? Many take the stand that Sesay should be absolved of his charges, that all those crimes were simply a means to an end in the time of war. After all, he willingly disarmed his army with the knowledge, which played

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a pivotal role in bringing the war to an end. He claims it was for the sake of peace and indeed, even Stephen J. Rapp (successor of Crane as Chief Prosecutor) seems to hint at agreement.

This documentary provides brilliant insight to the struggles in the world of international justice – always imperfect, always complicated, ever evolving. Beatrice Mtetwa and The Rule of Law Although it was 19th century British jurist Albert Venn Dicey who first popularised the theory of rule of law, there have been many different interpretations of it since then, often differing and almost always evasive. In this compelling documentary by Lorrie Conway, she tells the story of human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa through the lens of the rule of law, using it as a prism to examine the situation in Zimbabwe, and its history under the reign of terror by the Mugabe government.

In countries like Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe has amended the nation’s constitution 17 times, the legal framework is but a fallacy used by rulers to place themselves above the law. Living in a lawless world, the citizens of Zimbabwe are not safe, even in their own homes, because there is no rule of law to protect them. As Conway puts it, “..citizens turn on each other. The police no longer protect them. They protect the regime.”

What is so impressive about this film is how it gives a more tangible dimension to what was originally a rather abstract concept. Through interviews with the many defendants that Beatrice has helped, we begin to see a clear picture of the rule of law as the bedrock upon which a civil society can be built. Often overlooked, this film examines the crucial role played by the rule of law to uphold a principle as basic as human rights. This is real life, real suffering. This is why Beatrice risks her own life, time and time again: to uphold the last little bit of law that still exists. Thought-provoking and powerful, Beatrice Mtetwa & The Rule of Law serves to prevent significant details in history from being omitted, to provide accountability for the crimes that have been committed in the hopes that one day, justice will finally be served. The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court A film following the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s early years, The Reckoning provides an in-depth understanding of the origins, structure and operation of the court, which was the hard-earned result of years of international negotiation, inspired in part by the Nuremberg Tribunal. It centres on the narrations of three individuals who have dedicated their working lives to the Court: the ICC’s ambitious prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, Minister of Justice turned deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the ICC’s senior trial attorney Christine Chung.

Plot-wise, viewers might find this documentary somewhat lacking, especially when compared to the poignancy of War Don Don. The Reckoning is indeed rather dry in narration, and slightly long-winded. However, the filmmaker does an excellent job in capturing the motivation behind the Court’s conception. Some of the scenes, namely, the testimonies from survivors of war, eloquently capture much of the suffering that was caused as a result of civil wars in their countries. They acutely depict the unimaginable brutality and violence suffered by citizens of war, refugees within their own country and forced to bear hideous atrocities. In one of these scenes, Ms. Chung is

shown staring at her computer screen, as image after image of child soldiers with tortured and mutilated bodies flashes by.

The Reckoning is also a great source of information on global events and international criminal law for students. It shows how far we have come since the days of the Nuremberg Trials, back when the concept of an international tribunal was still in its infancy. It shows how the nations united in a time of need to form a court to provide justice. More importantly, it shows how much there is left to be done, in order to navigate through the thickets of ‘national sovereignty’ in countries where it’s sole purpose is to act as a smokescreen behind which political giants can hide from the law.

Bottom line: for all those passionate about human rights issues, international law, or maybe even the UN, this is an absolute must-watch. But for those who can barely stay awake in their lectures on Constitutional Rights, or have an aversion to a bit of blood and gore, you might be better off watching Suits.

Natalie Lim is a first year LLB student.

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