The Defence

Highbury Corner Magistrates at Islington was one of my haunts in those heady days of Criminal Law practice, together with Camberwell Magistrates in South London, and Thames Magistrates at Bow Road in the East. I also sometimes strayed off my usual stomping grounds and headed to West London to attend juvenile court in Hammersmith, and right across London to places as far apart as Hendon, Westminster or Bromley, wherever my instructions required that I attend.

Criminal Law was always my favourite since from being a law student all those decades ago. And it was criminal defence, not prosecution. An unsuccessful attempt to join the Crown Prosecution Service as a prosecutor only reinforced this thought in my mind that I enjoyed being a criminal defence lawyer; visiting my clients when they were in police custody, or in prison - Wandsworth Prison, Brixton Prison, Wormwood Scrubs, Pentonville - getting to know them; seeking the most favourable outcomes for them, even when I knew they were guilty as hell. I guess there was a naughty side of me that took delight in this - siding with the bad guys, well, sort of.

Later when I moved on to more desk-bound roles, although equally intense and stressful - but better remunerated, the work was not quite as exciting, as, for example, springing my client out of jail who had been in custody for months and denied bail repeatedly; or successfully arguing for a suspended sentence for my client, even though I knew they deserved to be sent to prison. My overseas training was advantageous, because it came with the advocacy skills of a barrister that solicitors who are trained solely in England and Wales do not normally possess. I was involved in several Crown Court matters as well, the court where the more serious cases are tried, and where I sat behind barristers whom I had instructed. 

Given the limited audience rights of a solicitor in England, namely, audience rights limited to the lower courts, tribunals, panels, and so on, it is those lower court cases, especially some particularly fierce cross-examinations of prosecution witnesses that have remained in my thoughts for longer, since the advocacy itself was always my stronger side.