Tag Archives: OccupyLondon

Drug Arrest Of Pupil Henry Mostyn Is ‘Fuss About Nothing’

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I have followed the saga about Henry Mostyn, the pupil found with a small amount of drugs on him, with puzzled bewilderment, writes OccupyTheInns.

It has been summed up most in the outrage of the truly awful Daily Mail, a newspaper I do my level best to keep a wide berth from. What a fuss about nothing! None of the coverage of this matter has even bothered to ask one simple question: what would have happened in this sorry affair if drugs were legalised? The answer, of course, is that there would not have been a scandal in the first place.

Sadly drugs remain illegal in this country, forcing talented young people like Henry Mostyn to hide – and be punished for – taking substances that are in many cases no more harmful than a few pints of lager. The situation is made worse for the high-achieving, often creative types who pursue careers at the Bar of England and Wales...

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If Pupillage Portal Doesn’t Work Then It’s The New York Bar

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OccupyTheInns ponders the merits of a high risk, yet potentially high reward, plan B

This week I have turned once more to the business of pupillage application as Pupillage Portal opened for its Spring season. There again were the familiar questions: “Why do you wish to become a barrister?”, “What areas of practice are you interested in and why?”, “Why do you believe you will make a good barrister?”

I know it is boxes such as these that even leading barristers like Tony Blair who have gone onto become household names have had to tick, but I query why Bar students are required to explain ad infinitum our motivations for a career that implicitly we have demonstrated commitment to by pursuing this high-risk path in the first place!

Some say the pressure is on for people like myself who completed the BPTC last year, and that this is the round that we must obtain our goal or otherwise remain forever upon the trash heap. At the bad times, when reading a pupillage rejection letter or reflecting on an interview performance that could have gone better, it would be easy to believe this view. However, it is of course nonsense.

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Time For Barristers To Put Hands in Their Pockets

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Pupillage should be the test for Bar wannabes, not interviews – and wealthy barristers should pay, argues OccupyTheInns

Rarely have I found myself nodding as fiercely in agreement as yesterday when I read Andrew Jackson’s proposal to raise the minimum pupillage award by having barristers effectively compelled to pay £3 a day towards the training of pupils.

Jackson’s proposal would, of course, also have extremely positive repercussions for the outrageous situation with regard to lack of pupillages at the Bar. Force barristers to pay a contribution towards pupils’ training and more pupillages would undoubtedly flow from the wider availability of funding. I rather like Mr. Jackson's style, which echoes what I myself have argued for in the past.

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Occupy London Mock Trial Pics – by Noah Arjomand

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*Update Saturday 21 January: Occupy has cancelled the mock trial of RBS scheduled for today*

Below is the spruced-up main courtroom in the disused Old Street magistrates' court - squatted by protesters since last month - where Occupy is currently holding three mock trials. Yesterday was war crimes, today the effect of the legal aid bill on squatters, and Saturday a prosecution of RBS for fraud and the misspending of public funds. My review of the war crimes inquiry, featuring another pic from Noah, is in today's Guardian.

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#RoundMyKitchenTable: Do the Inns of Court Need Modernising?

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Why do the Inns of Court make public their combined £4.7m scholarship fund, but refuse to disclose the revenue they generate from their massive property portfolios? Inner Temple recruitment manager Anthony Dursi sheds some light on this bugbear of journalist Alex Aldridge, while corporate lawyer Kevin Poulter wonders out loud whether anyone really cares.

There's also inside info on Inns scholarships. Which Inns interview all applicants? Which award according to need? Which award on merit only?

Plus Dursi, Aldridge and Poulter share their contrasting views on Occupy London's plan to conduct mock trials of bankers in a disused Old Street coutroom. And Dursi reveals how Inner Temple felt about last year's bid by a disgruntled law graduate to occupy the Inns of Court.

For #RoundMyKitchenTable on iTunes, click here.

For a transcript of the podcast, click here.

Transcript provided by Stretlaw.com Your access to Legal Education, 2011

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Trials of The 1%’ To Begin As Occupy Allowed To Stay In Shoreditch Courthouse For 3 More Weeks

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Occupy London protesters have been granted the right to continue squatting a disused Old Street magistrates’ court (pictured below) until January 23 – giving the group the opportunity to stage a series of “trials of the 1%” over the next three weeks.

The decision to allow the protesters to stay was made yesterday in the warmer climes of Clerkenwell County Court, where Occupy came to an agreement with the Old Street building’s property developer owner Mastcraft Limited (represented by Stratford solicitors’ firm Bowling & Co.).

Gytis Turbinas, one of the members of Occupy’s legal team, told Legal Cheek that the group was “very happy” with the outcome. “It’s in our interests to not have these court cases,” he said. “Three weeks gives us enough time. And it saves Mastcraft money enforcing a possession order and incurring further court expenses. We have reached an agreement that is good for all sides.”

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