The criticism came thick and fast
Ex-magic circler Dominic Raab MP came under fire from lawyers on social media for his questionable performance during Channel 4’s Tory leadership election debate.
Taking to the stage alongside his fellow Tory leader hopefuls (minus Boris who declined) yesterday evening, former Linklaters‘ lawyer Raab claimed he was the only candidate who can be trusted to take the UK out of the EU by the end of October.
However, Raab’s performance didn’t go down well with lawyers on Twitter.
“As a barrister I occasionally meet opponents like Dominic Raab in court,” wrote St John’s Buildings’ Douglas Lloyd. “They have incredible, intimidating levels of confidence and talk a tough game but then the case starts and you quickly realise they have no idea what they’re doing.” The barrister’s critical post has since garnered over 2,300 retweets and 11,000 likes.
As a barrister I occasionally meet opponents like Dominic Raab in court. They have incredible, intimidating levels of confidence and talk a tough game but then the case starts and you quickly realise they have no idea what they’re doing.#C4Debate #ToryLeadership
— Douglas Lloyd (@DouglasLloydUK) June 16, 2019
Responding to Lloyd, social media heavyweight The Secret Barrister branded Raab a “charlatan whose cross-examination is constantly interrupted by a despairing judge as he demonstrates that he doesn’t have the first clue about rules of evidence.”
That is just so spot on. He’s the charlatan whose cross-examination is constantly interrupted by a despairing judge as he demonstrates that he doesn’t have the first clue about rules of evidence.
— The Secret Barrister (@BarristerSecret) June 16, 2019
In another tweet, the criminal barrister and successful author went on to draw comparisons between Raab and “Patrick Swayze’s evil workmate from Ghost“.
I mean, Dominic Raab is just awful, isn’t he? There’s not actually any debate to be had on that point. He’s basically Patrick Swayze’s evil workmate from Ghost.
— The Secret Barrister (@BarristerSecret) June 16, 2019
Raab, a Tory MP for Esher and Walton since 2010, studied law at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, before going on to complete a masters at Jesus College, Cambridge. Raab went on to train as a lawyer at magic circle outfit Linklaters, before specialising in project finance, international litigation and competition law.
Other lawyers to criticise Raab included Ed Hayes, legal director at TLT, who described the ex-Brexit Secretary as “every shit self-satisfied magic circle trainee every other lawyer has ever dealt with.”
Raab is every shit self-satisfied magic circle trainee every other lawyer has ever dealt with. This debate is basically him boasting on a Friday night in the Pitcher and Piano about the latest deal he’s done the photocopying on #C4debate
— Ed Hayes (@edjhayes) June 16, 2019
With policial aspirations, Raab ditched his legal career and joined the Foreign Office in 2000. You can watch Britain’s Next PM — The C4 Debate here.