Where is the high moral ground?
From Christopher Digby-Bell
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Sir, Michael Napier, the Attorney-General’s pro bono envoy, believes that Lord Goldsmith’s interest in pro bono is “a mechanism for elevating legal professionalism” (Law, June 6). What is elevating about being supported by a minister who has taken three years to object to Guantanamo Bay? Napier thinks that this gives the profession “the high ground”. It is more likely to dig it into a big hole in the ground.
CHRISTOPHER DIGBY-BELL,
Law Society council member
Actually, Miller didn’t mean us
From James Turner, QC
Sir, In the Law Diary (Law, May 30) you draw attention to an attack by Alan Miller on the legal profession, and you then list the lawyers who were involved in the Miller case in the House of Lords, including me (although not those who acted for Mr Miller in the lower courts), and you question whether Mr Miller had the whole lot of us in mind when he made his attack.
I am able to provide an answer to that question, by reference to the following extracts from an e-mail sent to me by Mr Miller: “By the way, there will be a very damming article written on the family law profession by me which will probably be picked up by the national press — this will criticise the lack of negotiations between parties, . . . and the obsession with certain QCs with creating new law. Obviously this is not aimed at you so please do not take any offence.”
I rather assume that my junior, Philip Marshall, and my instructing solicitor, Raymond Tooth, were intended to be treated as coming within that exception.
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Yours faithfully,
JAMES TURNER, QC,
1 King’s Bench Walk,
Temple, EC4Y 7DB
From Arlene McCarthy, MEP
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Your Citylaw article on the Services Directive (Law, June 6) says that the European Parliament originally voted against it. In fact, the Parliament voted for the Directive by a 2:1 majority on February 16. More than that, the agreement of the Council of Ministers would not have been possible without the new compromise forged in the Parliament.
ARLENE McCARTHY, MEP
Chairman of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, European Parliament.
From Carol Tullo
Since 1996 all UK legislation has been made available at no charge (Law, May 23), as soon as it is enacted, on the Office of Public Sector Information’s website (opsi.gov.uk). Since last October, legislation has been accessible in both PDF and HTML formats.
CAROL TULLO,
Office of Public Sector Information,
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.