Legal Village

Dodgy donations, wigs and bloggery

Posted 17/01/2008 by Mike Semple Piggot

The new year got off to a cracking start with political blogs falling over themselves to release analysis and snippets of news on donations to political parties. Stories about Lib-Dem and Tory alleged non-compliance seem to have dropped out of the headlines, but the press seems less keen to drop the bone about Labour problems, with Peter Hain having his difficulties and facing investigation by the Electoral Commission and by Parliament.

Fellow blogger Carl Gardner, author of the Head of Legal blog, had this to say: “The Peter Hain case is a big test for the legal and regulatory regime on political donations: if PPERA and the Electoral Commission are to earn public confidence, some time, some politician has to be made an example of, and prosecuted for an offence. In Peter Hain's case, that'd be under paragraph 12(2) of Schedule 7, unless he can show he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to ensure donations were reported, in accordance with paragraph 12(3).”

Of wigs and gowns…
With the Practice Direction issued by The Lord Chief Justice coming into force in early January, solicitors, or at least those who can afford or wish to wear the kit, are now appearing bewigged in court. This poses something of a dilemma for the Lord Chief Justice, who has overseen the design of new robes for a potential ‘wigless’ judiciary, particularly as the Bar has come out in favour of retaining their wigs and gowns. Lord Phillips, it was reported recently, is a front-runner for the top post in the new Supreme Court, which comes into being in 2009.

The Bar Council has a new chairman, Timothy Dutton QC, who is continuing the practice established by Geoffrey Vos QC  by continuing to blog. Dutton states in his first blog that barristers awake to and deal with new challenges everyday. He has set himself several tasks, including these: to "encourage all who encounter the law to think 'client first, barrister first' - the early instruction of a barrister helps a client to solve the problem" and, in light of the coming into force of the Legal Services Act 2007, to "prepare the profession for the fact that new models of delivery of legal services will be possible from about 2011”.

Innovation or just a waste of time?
I also blog under the pseudonym Charon QC. Charon is, of course, a figment of my imagination. Qua Charon I spend a fair bit of my evening leisure time writing about various matters, some political, some law, but mostly about whatever comes into my head.

Recently I hosted an issue of the travelling blawg carnival (hosted each week by a different blawger) Blawg Review. I made the main focus UK-oriented to introduce a wide range of blogs to US lawyers – many of whom take blogging very seriously indeed. I also reviewed quite a few US and other blogs from around the world and, in so doing, came across a rich vein of knowledge, comment and humour. I recommend Blawg Review to anyone who is interested in law blogs and the US scene.

I suffer from the problem that I can only sleep for four hours. I am also a news junkie, so I tend to read the tabloids and the leading broadsheets online when I wake at 4.00am. It doesn’t take long to pick up the latest legal stories.

Last week I started a daily news podcast for our online magazine Consilio, a four-minute briefing on the latest headlines in relation to the law and interesting stories or comment in UK blawgs. I don’t think the new News at Ten presenters need fear for their jobs just yet.

Not content with this, I have also started a Weekend Review podcast. It lasts for about 35 minutes and is in the ‘style’ of a radio magazine programme. Last week, we had a very reflective piece from solicitor Peter Rouse of advizory and comment from four leading UK blawgers on family law, mediation, intellectual property, the Peter Hain ‘Donorgate’ affair and, of course, solicitors wearing wigs.

The numbers listening are encouraging but I do wonder if this might be an innovation too far?  Time will tell whether it is a waste of time.

Unusual marketing by lawyers
Fellow blogger John Bolch, author of Family Lore, is a solicitor who specialises in family law. Occasionally he goes off-piste and when he does the result is often entertaining.

He discovered that US attorney Corri Fetman of Fetman Garland & Associates was advertising her firm’s expertise in divorce matters by putting up billboards around Chicago picturing her dressed as a dominatrix with a young, well-built man who was her personal trainer. She also writes a column for Playboy magazine as “the Lawyer of Love” and, apparently, for those who buy membership of the Playboy site, she has provided nude photographs of herself for the education and edification of members.

My blog post on the matter is ‘office safe’.

A light post for my first of the year, but if you have the time and the inclination, you may well find reward in visiting some of the UK, US and other international blogs. And, you never know, you may well find profit for your law firm in  doing so. Nick Holmes of InfoLaw writes the Binary Law blog – a useful source of information on blogging and the technology needed. There are some excellent blogs written by law firms, providing a useful source of analysis, comment and news.

Good luck if you take up blogging. You will certainly receive a warm welcome from other UK blawgers.

You can find me and my alter ego “Charon’ on Consilio if you do decide to try your hand at blogging. Happy to help in any way I can.