Geeklawyer fully supports his criminal colleagues in refusing to sign their new legal aid contracts. Respect to Simon Myerson and all the others.
Question: does this mean that unrepresented defendants could potentially have their cases dismissed for lack a lawyer? Bad very bad. But presumably all these cases will be adjourned until the mess is sorted out. Hopefully the Government will get it’s wallet out instead
of trying to fuck the Bar.
“Collins referred to meetings of barristers and reports of pressure put on barristers not to sign, which he warned could amount to a criminal offence under anti-cartel competition laws.
Barristers deny that any pressure has been exerted, and say the decision is down to the individual. Hugo Charlton, who asked the Met to investigate, said Collins’ letter could be interpreted as suggesting that barristers who joined a bid would be committing a criminal offence if they did not go on to sign the contract.”
Simon Myerson gave a most interesting view on this in his interview with me for the Weekend Review podcast yesterday
I have extracted the talk, with his blessing.
http://www.spr-consilio.com/myerson1.mp3
a somewhat unrelated and frivolous point (how odd here at geek lawyer’s place…):
i went to the new czech republic not long after the velvet divorce
(slovakia: that’s it, i’m going back to mother’s - get bloody germany to iron your socks
czech republic: [does not look up from paper]mmhmm
slovakia: i really am going!
czech republic: mmmhmmm
slovakia: [Looks a bit doubtful and goes]
A DOOR SLAMS - CZECH REPUBLIC STARTS TO COUNT THE MONEY)
sorry; sidetracked there - i dutifully read the lonely planet book and the bit about the velvet revolution (if you’re going to have a revolution, get one in a nice fabric). one sentence read:
‘by this point the actors and students had been on strike for 3 months’.
and amazingly, the government still wasn’t brought to its knees.
is that what a barristers’ strike will be like? how long will it take judges to get past the picket line?
‘if it please the court, i appear for the striking barristers and my learned friend appears for the stinking scabs.(pale junior mutters ’scabs’ half-heartedly) has the court had the opportunity to peruse the skeleton argument we prepared about what we want and when we want it?’.
a bus pulls up and is pelted with briefs before discharging its cargo of croatian barristers to scuttle in the side door in cheap polyester gowns. insults are hurled in latin.
all too horrible to contemplate. braziers in the temple…lunches left half-eaten… wigs knocked askew. imminent collapse of society.