Useless Truckers?

This is the first public comment we have seen regarding the departure mentioned in the foreword to the Friday Song, below.

We post it as it is now in the public domain, is subject to rumours and you were going to see it sooner or later. Here and now however, is not the place to say any more and I don’t want to break any confidences.

It does however put Stobart Barristers back in the spotlight. I have watched HIGNFY so lets get this clear right from the start; whilst you or I might take a view on their new operation it is, I am advised, entirely legitimate. Like me, you might also take the view that their interest in PCT was more a canny, publicity stunt than a statement of genuine intent. We will see. (Actually we probably wont)

That aside they are clearly very concerned as to how their venture is represented, even in ostensibly “private” emails. You might expect therefore that this would be reciprocated in their portrayal of others. This is from their website:

Solicitors spend time and money meeting you and preparing your case before sending it to a barrister for an opinion.

Now there are 5 of us in the office today with an average 18.6 years of experience of Solicitors firms (yes we are getting old). We scored this statement, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being inaccurate and 10 being accurate.

This score averaged out at 1.2 – so not that accurate then.

Graham, one of our costs drafters, who sees more solicitor files than most of us commented;

“That probably only happens on 1 out of 100 cases”

Neither is it an accurate representation of how Criminal cases are conducted. Their “new way” on Criminal Law also fails to mention two little, but very important words, at all – “Legal” & “Aid”. Instead they offer the somewhat enigmatic alternative of “private support”.

A Solicitor would commit a regulatory breach for even failing to mention that LA was available when offering a private retainer.

And that is before you get onto some of the practicalities

When you’re in trouble with the police, you need an expert criminal barrister on your case without delay.

And –

Call if you have been arrested.

Err if you are in a Police cell don’t you need an experienced police station representative? How do Stobarts provide one of those?

We could keep doing this all day.

And here was me thinking that the whole point of the direct access Bar was that you did not need an intermediary?