Appearance in court part II

Still learning lessons... early on I spotted the agent for the other side and introduced myself. She wasn't interested in talking, but afterwards I noticed her pull out the file and start reading it in detail. Oops... gave her warning that I was ready and prepared, so she was preparing.

So I asked her if I could see what papers she had. (Why not?). And she told me. Handy, let me adjust what I was going to say.

Then it came to it. Did my best to present something structured, tried to pace myself, tried to keep calm. And not give in. And try try try not to say anything really stupid.

It worked. Sheriff was with me. Other side less sure of her facts. I won. Happy days.

First appearance in court

Had my first appearance in court today. It went really well... until I did something a bit silly.

First thing was discovering that the other side hadn't sent one of their trainees but the heavyweight pro from the office. Not great.

Second thing was being first up - bad, as I didn't have the chance to gauge the sheriff beforehand, but good as he wasn't yet impatient by the time I was on!

I was nervous beforehand but when I went up I felt fine. The pursuer's agent set the scene then the sheriff turned to me.

I made my submissions (went well), tendered a photocopy from McPhail and a Westlaw copy (I know...). Went well, sheriff was with me. I was doing OK. Sheriff was even smiling at me. And then... doh!

Pursuer's agent said that he didn't have the papers he needed with him and asked for a continuation. And I didn't oppose it. So it was continued for 2 weeks. And the sheriff told me that whilst he was impressed with my submissions, agreeing to the continuation was "commendable". I think that means he was calling me a ninny.

Why? Because it was in the bag... and now I have given him the chance to appear with a bunch of papers that will no doubt cast enough doubt about my defence to sink my arguments, or something along those lines. Or I will have a less sympathetic sheriff. Or I will be last on (being a continued diet) so the sheriff will have no patience for bringing out McPhail. And I could have put it to bed this morning and returned to the office to a hero's welcome (or something like that).

Drat.

So why did I do it? Well, I didn't actually think it would be worth opposing a continuation. Right? Wrong. Let's face it, the pursuer's agent should have been prepared with the right papers, just as I was.

A lesson in inexperience! Am becoming fed up of learning from mistakes! At least I enjoyed the advocacy. And maybe it will be OK in 2 weeks... we'll see.

Insurance companies

Spoke to a claims handler at an insurance company, the defender in an action. He was mightily upset that I'd raised proceedings against him. He said, after all, he only had 2 letters on file from us! He was genuinely aggrieved and annoyed.

I explained to him that the first letter (sent months and months ago) was just to bring them into the picture and give them a chance to respond. When I had heard nothing, I sent the second letter, giving them 14 days. Then when I heard nothing, I raised it.

(What would he like me to do? Tell the client "Oh, the insurance company has ignored us, let's just forget all about it! How many letters did he want - and how many more would he have ignored?)

He was very angry about that. He accused me of just trying to get the most money for my client (he really said that... as if!). I was quite calm (I think it's easy to be calm when you're the one who has initiated things) and he became quite agitated. In the end he said "I'm not going to get into an argument with you" (who was arguing?). And then "I'M PASSING IT TO MY SOLICITORS" (like it was a big threat). Great - perhaps they'll be more professional!

Been a while

Havent posted in ages, which is a shame, as have been having a brilliant time at work.

Am now in full flow, files and clients coming my way, up to litigating. Of course I'm not yet able to do the courtroom stuff myself, so I have to let my managing partners name be on my litigation. But I'm still getting to do the pleadings in the summonses + writs which is an art (proficiently rushed by the pros, they take me ages!)

The office is still a fun place to be. It's a happy office with good people, making the workday into a great thing.

Finally got to use my law society ID card on a trip to court. Of course, now that I have it, they scarcely even look at it. I just waved it in the general direction of security and they nodded me through - it could have been any old card!

Name in the journal

Very small moment today when one of the solicitors noticed my name in the journal of the law society as a new entrant :) Quite exciting to see it there. Plus had the added benefit of proving to my managing partner that my training certificate isn't forged and the law society really has my name on their lists...

Contract

Finally got round to signing my training contract. I'd been waiting for the firm to provide one. It's almost the deadline when the law society demands it, so I emailed my managing partner and the head of HR to see what was going on.

Five minutes later the partner came in and said "but we've been waiting for you to give us a contract! Haven't you received the standard one from the law society?" I had, of course, but I had assumed that the firm, being fairly large, would have one of their own.

There were a few things to tweak. I resisted the temptation to add in clauses for the exclusive use of a company limo, regular meals out paid for by the firm, or even a pay rise.

I spoke to a 2nd year trainee who had to do the same thing at another firm. When doing the same thing she'd inserted for her pay "the law society minimum" whilst her colleagues had put in the actual figures. Come the increase the following year she gained the increase above her colleagues.

So I lightly tweaked my contract accordingly and added in "or greater amount as may be agreed between the Trainee and the Employer". This was picked upon by my managing partner and the finance director.

It was quite a moment going through the contract with the partner, as he picked through each word and ribbed me about it. Especially when he noticed that I had also made the slightly embarassing mistake of misspelling his name...

Management meeting

Had my first management meeting today. Went well. Apparently my efforts not to drown in too much info by noting everything on the file is seen as being organised and not lacking in mental abilities (all of my colleagues seem to be able to remember the last detail of every case off the tops of their heads).

Lunch was hectic - was looking forward to a break but the phone kept ringing. One witness was livid. I'd sent him a copy of what he'd said to me. "No! I can't say that, I'm not qualified to say that. That's not what I want to say". But you did! That's why I wrote it down.

Just when I thought I could cope with the phone and nibble my lunch at the same time, reception called. A client had popped in to see me and drop off photos he thought I should see. No rest for the wicked!

New trainee

I'm not the newbie any more - one new trainee has started and there's another coming soon. Although I'm only a few months ahead of them, because I've passed the basic hurdle of getting used to the system, and have (hopefully) shown the office I can cope with the things that are thrown at me, I've been told that I may as well be a whole year ahead of them. It's a perception thing. At least, thats the experience of last year's trainees!

I am beginning to feel that I'm covering a fair spread of what I might eventually be doing, apart from, of course, being allowed to open my mouth in court! At the beginning I was excited by the tasks I was being given. Whilst they seem basic compared to some of the more technical legal activities which I've been trusted with, the importance of a good basic precognition is only becoming more acute as the basic building block in gathering evidence. And whilst I was very excited to be passed clients of my own, I'm now juggling an increasing load of cases.

I can still take comfort, though, as a trainee... my juggling efforts look small time compared to the 100+ files the 2nd year trainees and NQs have on their desks.

First summons

Better get used to saying "its been a busy week" - think thats how it's going to be from now on. It's not a bad thing if you manage it all properly, had considered a grimace when being given new tasks to dissuade people from giving me too much... but then again as a trainee I'm striving to be helpful and capable so will be grateful for everything I'm given!

Have had some very interesting things this week. Top of the list was drafting my first summons. This of course involved thinking about liability, injury and quantum, so had to spend some time valuing the claim and wondering if my assessment was realistic. Of course it doesn't matter what I put, the answers are always going to say "The sum sued for is excessive"! Hopefully there's enough of a case there that it doesn't get punted out on a rule 22 note (if thats the right one I'm thinking of).

It's now over 2 months since I started. I'm still overjoyed to say that the place is still as much fun as when I started. The atmosphere is still friendly and open. Results are undoubtedly expected, but they are achieved with a positive vibe rather than driven by fear.

Another week

Another week has zoomed by. I'm now managing my cases, and fitting these around the various tasks that are sent my way. My managing partner asked me how my workload is - shouldn't be twiddling my thumbs, but definitely shouldn't be pulling out my hair under an unmanageable weight!

My own case load is growing. I'm finding it much more useful progressing my files, as I have to know (or find out) all the various procedures / forms, assess whatever I need to know about liability and the losses or injuries suffered, and get the necessary evidence. Some of it is quite interesting - such as finding out in detail about industrial processes.

I've begun to notice how much some people despise their jobs. Some people have to put up with pain and discomfort, which they can't avoid. I've also had a few interesting dealings with witnesses. In one day I had both ends of a spectrum - a witness who was just not interested in revealing anything - it was like pulling teeth - to another witness who had been made redundant and hated his old employer. He was desperate to dish the dirt.

My Law Society ID card has finally arrived. Now I can waltz into court without being searched, and without having to queue with everybody else. Unfortunately the arrival has coincided with the inevitable decline in opportunities to actually use it! My workload is increasing, plus there's a new trainee starting on Monday, so we'll have to take turns in going to court.

Proof

Sat in on a proof today, which was brilliant. It's very different to all the procedural stuff that goes on beforehand - in some ways looks easier, as you'll have specifically prepared for that and know the file, but in many ways harder as it's down to advocacy.

It was also interesting to watch. The solicitor I was with doesn't have huge experience of proofs, and was up against Mr Slick - the partner in his firm, who used every trick in the book - it was clear he hadn't done the preparation and ground work and instead relied on his impressive gravitas and advocacy skills.

I was hoping for a decision soon, but sadly the Sheriff (who wasn't shy to intervene) said that as he has so many on which he's taking avizandum, it will be 10 weeks to find out whether classy advocacy beats preparation and quality evidence.

Working on my own files

I'm enjoying working on my own files. I'm getting to work out just what to do, what I need to find out to assess liability - who I need to speak to, what other evidence I need, and what the law is.

At the same time, I am responsible to the client. Although ultimately I am supervised, I still obviously strongly feel that I don't want to let the client down. I'm being extra diligent!

Bad Law

Am beginning to learn about bad law. How does it come about? I've seen 2 types so far.

One is law lords down in London coming to inexplicable conclusions - with detailed reasoning that doesn't match the outcome, or follow statute (thought they weren't supposed just to make it up!). It makes it hard to know the law and predict an outcome.

The other can be blamed squarely on lawyers who don't consider the issues, prepare properly, or have poor advocacy. There will be a decision or an award that is out of line with what the client should have expected.

The upshot is that it makes it everybody else's job much harder! Bad lawyers mean bad precedents for their colleagues later on. It also means you have a responsibility to do your own job properly or you risk messing things up for everybody else!

Clients

Had my first disappointing client experience today. Having spoken to some witnesses, it looks like the client's take on what happened doesn't exactly match what happened in reality, and that the client is hardly the innocent party. I guess it's part of investigating any claim and finding out now saves lots of wasted expense and possibly very red face in court!

On the other hand, had a couple of comedy moments taking client statements today. One factory worker said that his colleague had said "Oh my goodness, I have cut off the tip of my finger!". When I asked him if that's exactly what he'd said, he admitted not exactly, it may have been in slightly stronger terms.

Another comedy quote was from a friendly girl who had witnessed an accident on the other side of the road. I asked her where it happened and she helpfully said "I was on the left, and the oncoming cars were to my right on the road". That settles that then!