Obscenity Lawyer: How to create a niche doing something you’re passionate about

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As you'd expect, Myles Jackman – aka "Obscenity Lawyer" – has some great stories. My personal favourite is the one about a man he represented who had the largest collection of porn ever found in the country – including objects so unwieldy that they required the police to use six six-foot high pallets when confiscating them.

But it's the quirky way Jackman has carved out a niche doing something he's passionate about – and his belief that this generation of rookie lawyers can do the same – that I found most interesting...
Myles-meme5

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Morning round-up: Friday 24 May

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Copy-pasteTop judge reprimanded for copying his ruling "word for word" from one side in £1.8m court case [Mail Online]

How does copyright work in space? [The Economist]

Law firm layoffs mount up as top 50 job cuts reach 750 over past year [Legal Week]

McAlpine v Bercow judgment on whether her tweet was defamatory to be handed down today at 10:30am [David Allen Green on Twitter]

Referral of the week [Twitter]

Unanimous: profession votes for "training days" action in protest over cuts [Law Society Gazette]

Judge in trouble for telling female lawyers they’d soon don bikinis and get in a mud bath [The Times of Israel]

End of the day round-up

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sleeping-catJoshua Rozenberg: Flaws in fraud case show worrying lapses by judges and lawyers [The Guardian]

Withers and Speechly Bircham call off merger after top-level talks [Legal Week]

How do you become a barristers’ clerk? [notabarrister]

Fury over sex gang victim, 18, who had to endure 12 days of excruciating cross-examination in trial that shamed the legal system [Mail Online]

PM's Woolwich terror attack statement [YouTube]

Cameron praised for respecting Rule of Law [Twitter]

The privatisation of legal proceedings in the US has led to untold miscarriages of justice – and now it's coming to a town near you [The Independent]

6 animals that look like Chris Grayling

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Some have lampooned Chris Grayling for his lack of a legal qualification. Others have sought to undermine him with cruel nicknames, such as Failing Grayling – from which a Twitter account has been spawned. Rather cruelly, said Twitter account recently drew attention to the Justice Secretary's likeness to a "dead eyed wet fish" – a reference, of course, to the Grayling fish (pictured below).

grayling-fish

Continuing in that vein, here are five further animals that, arguably, closely resemble Chris Grayling.

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Morning round-up: Thursday 23 May

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Former solicitor Bob Mortimer heaps ridicule on Dynamo Legal founder Alex Mills [Twitter]

Barrister quizzes Google chief Eric Schmidt on his tax affairs at Google Big Tent [The Guardian]

Guildford Four member: "Back in the 1970s they sent innocent people to jail by the vanload. But if these cuts go through they’ll be sending them in by the Eddie Stobart truckload" [Socialist Worker]

Britain could end up in the dock at a European court if Bermuda fails to bring its human rights law up to date [Bermuda Sun]

Forget ABSs – AI, touchable holographs and telepresence robots "will transform the law" [Legal Futures]

Judges give reasons for rejecting Bali Briton's appeal [The Guardian]

Boris's sexual shenanigans and a landmark victory over our creeping culture of Stalinist secrecy [Daily Mail]

End of the day round-up

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8Legal aid budget protests: 8 reasons to back lawyers' campaign [The Mirror]

Police refused to help lawyer track down "stolen" iPad [Birmingham Mail]

I’m smart, fun, and a lawyer – you’d never guess I’m also a sociopath [The Times]

Training contract numbers fall to lowest level since 1998 [The Lawyer]

Lawyers protest outside parliament against legal aid cuts [The Guardian]

The worst LLM programmes in the world [Above the Law]

‘The tide may flood law firms, but I remain unconvinced that it will engulf the Bar’

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occupytheinnsThe profession which I am to join in September as a pupil barrister is facing its biggest threat yet. No question about that. That is why today's protest outside parliament is so necessary. I am only sorry that I cannot be there, writes OccupyTheInns.

I must admit that I am finding Australia, where I am recharging my batteries following a period of travel and human rights work, rather difficult to enjoy.

If the truth be told, my mind is elsewhere, far from the fine beaches and abundant wildlife. Barely a day goes by without me checking for news on the situation at home. It is no understatement to say that I am deeply concerned about the assault on legal aid and the impact it will have not just on my future in criminal law, but on justice itself.

Fortunately, my chambers is a good one, sure to push on despite whatever missiles this clown of a non-lawyer Lord Chancellor propels at it from his bunker of ignorance. For this reason I am assured of my short term. Pupillage and the first years as a junior tenant are probably secure. However, beyond that the picture becomes unclear.

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Morning round-up: Wednesday 22 May

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urbanLawyers and judges now using the Urban Dictionary in court [New York Times]

Britain's unusual and antiquated distinction between barristers and solicitors ought not be sacrosanct [The Guardian]

Baker & Mckenzie lawyer booted from Russia for (allegedly) refusing to serve as Kremlin spy [Wired]

Exhibit D – the "fraudster" [A Barrister's Wife]

Newly qualified Kingsley Napley solicitor voices legal aid concerns [BBC 5 Live on Twitter]

London Legal Walk raises over £575,000 for free legal advice [UK Fundraising]

Jail warning after injury claim man seen at rugby training [BBC News]

Young vs Young... a new twist in the capital’s most bitter divorce battle [Evening Standard]

End of the day round-up

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strike1Barrister's wife: four reasons why the legal aid reforms need to be stopped [New Statesman]

Justice Grayling-style: an imagined conversation that could become all too real, all too soon [A view from the North]

Lawyers rally to fight legal aid cuts [Manchester Evening News]

Is family law next? [Twitter]

Top destinations for expat lawyers ranked [Legal Week]

Jerry Hayes: Why gay marriage vote is groundhog day for the Tories [Comment is free]

11 reasons you’re wrong to hate Clapham [Buzzfeed]