The Barrister Blog

Book recommendation: 'A Certain Justice' by P D James

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000Z

Although A Certain Justice begins with news of a murder, the victim isn't set to die for another four weeks. Publicly respected but privately loathed, Venetia Aldridge has far more enemies than a brilliant London criminal lawyer should--and at least one of them is determined to do her in. Venetia plies her superior trade in courts that harbour "the illusion that the passions of men were

Weekend video: 'Amistad'

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000Z

Transport Committee fails in its overly generalised analysis of whiplash claims

2012-01-19T15:56:00.000Z

The House of Commons Transport Committee have very recently published its follow up report on the cost of motor insurance. One of the matters it covered was whiplash claims and it said in particular that it was "not convinced that a diagnosis [of whiplash] unsupported by further evidence of injury or personal inconvenience arising from the injury should be sufficient for a claim to be settled. I

Book recommendation: 'Wind, Sand and Stars' by Antoine Saint-Exupery

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000Z

In 1926 de Saint-Exupéry began flying for the pioneering airline Latécoère - later known as Aéropostale - opening up the first mail routes across the Sahara and the Andes. WIND, SAND AND STARS is drawn from this experience. Interweaving encounters with nomadic Arabs and other adventures into a richly textured autobiographical narrative which includes the extraordinary story of his crash in the

Law and Peace reviewed at RollOnFriday

2012-01-17T16:48:00.000Z

Very many thanks to Laura at RollOnFriday for reviewing my book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book on amazon. "Former barrister Tim Kevan's follow up to last year's Law and Disorder, provides the next instalment in the life of fictional junior barrister BabyB. Having schemed and plotted his way to tenancy, BabyB discovers that keeping his nose out of

Weekend video: 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000Z

Do we really need economic growth?

2012-01-12T14:32:00.000Z

There's a fascinating recent article in The New Scientist (£) which mentioned the book The Limits to Growth from 1972 which was updated in 2004. It used a computer model to analyse what would happen if growth continued. Would it eventually come to an end? The model suggested that eventually population growth and over-use of resources would mean it would come to an end. The problem though was that

Scottish independence would mean Tory rule in England and Wales

2012-01-11T14:17:00.000Z

Am I the only one to question the Tories' line on Scottish independence? They say they're strongly in favour of the union. But they're also a political party above all focused on getting into and wielding power. So it's hardly cynical to point out that getting rid of Scottish seats from the House of Commons is far more likely to bring electoral success to the Tories south of the border. In fact,

Mention of BabyBarista's partnership with ICLR at Nick Holmes' InfoLaw blawg

2012-01-11T11:53:00.002Z

Nice to see a mention of the partnership between BabyBarista and the ICLR online at Nick Holmes' infolaw.co.uk.

David Cameron will struggle to tackle health and safety culture

2012-01-09T17:51:00.000Z

I seem that David Cameron is setting his sights on the so-called health and safety culture. It'll be interesting to see how he manages to draw back any of the regulations. One of the biggest problems is that whilst it's very easy to bring in new regulations, perhaps in reaction to this or that, it's much more difficult to get rid of them. The problem is that one pressure group or another will be

Plough Service at Saunton Church

2012-01-09T17:37:00.000Z

I went to the Plough Service yesterday at the beautiful little church at Saunton (left). The service was to celebrate Plough Sunday which is a traditional English celebration of the beginning of the agricultural year and attended in particular by the local farmers. You'll see the plough at the front of the church and as well as that and hymns such as 'We Plough the Fields and Scatter' and 'All

Article on Surfing in North Devon for Exmoor Magazine

2012-01-07T13:37:00.003Z

Thanks to Exmoor The Country Magazine for allowing me to re-publish an article I did for them recently on Surfing in North Devon (below). You can find out more about the excellent magazine here. SURFING IN NORTH DEVON Tim Kevan explains why people paddle out into the sea even in the middle of Winter and goes on to give a guide to North Devon’s main surfing beaches When people think of surfing

Weekend video: 'Ally McBeal Cast Reunion'

2012-01-07T07:00:00.000Z

Mulberry Finch review the BabyBarista series of books

2012-01-04T16:51:00.000Z

Very many thanks to Henry Oliver at Mulberry Finch for reviewing my book Law and Peace. You can read the review Mulberry Finch or below. You can buy the book on amazon. "If you want to relax on Boxing Day by laughing at your lawyer (a great way to let all that pent-up anger out), then you can’t do better than reading Tim Kevan’s excellent Baby Barista books. For those who are as yet

Book recommendation: 'The Warden' by Anthony Trollope

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000Z

The book centers on the character of Mr. Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity, whose charitable income far exceeds the purpose for which it was intended. Young John Bold turns his reforming zeal to exposing what he considers to be an abuse of privilege, despite being in love with Mr. Harding's daughter Eleanor. The novel was highly topical as a case regarding the misapplication of

Cassou - French Legal Artist

2012-01-02T17:21:00.000Z

Nice to see a French legal artist called Cassou who has put her content online at Blog de Cassou. This picture is called 'Animaux Domnestiques' though what she thinks a judge, a dinosaur and a snail have in common who can imagine!

Weekend video: 'Rumpole: Law vs Justice'

2011-12-31T07:00:00.001Z

Book recommendation: 'Wig Begone' by Charles Courtley

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000Z

Wig Begone is an exhilarating tale of Charles' early career with disaster often lurking round the corner and culminating in his own appearance in front of England's most notorious judge!Available from Amazon.co.uk

Braunton Tug of War 2011

2011-12-27T11:20:00.002Z

Weekend video: 'It's A Wonderful Life'

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000Z

Book recommendation: 'The Litigators' by John Grisham

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000Z

'Grisham is brilliantly comic in a novel that is full of zest and brimming with memorable characters and rich storylines... The legal storylines are typically rich in social detail and instances of entertaining rascality... Away from his usual southern turf, Grisham is turned by Chicago into a more Dickensian writer, soft-hearted at times but predominantly funny... a brilliant comic set piece'(

Don't miss 'The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff' on BBC iPlayer! @iammarkevans

2011-12-20T16:34:00.002Z

I watched The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff on BBC2 last night and couldn't recommend it more highly. It's got an incredible cast which includes Stephen Fry, Robert Webb, David Mitchell, Celia Imrie, Johnny Vegas...the list goes on. It's also written by the brilliant Mark Evans who has already written four series of Bleak Expectations for Radio 4 (and who you can follow on Twitter at @iammarkevans).

My dog Jack is immortalised by top Hollywood animator Alex Williams!

2011-12-18T12:03:00.002Z

My dog Jack has just been immortalised by top Hollywood animator Alex Williams who also draws the Queen's Counsel cartoons for The Times and has written numerous books including the excellent The Queen's Counsel Official Lawyers Handbook. He has worked on films such as Roger Rabbit, Narnia and Marmaduke and even drew drew Harry Potter's deer Patronus. You can see a video of Jack surfing here.

Weekend video: 'Sweet Smell of Success'

2011-12-17T07:00:00.000Z