When lawyers talk about a court fight, they are usually speaking metaphorically of an intellectual joust with their opponents, not actual fisticuffs. But one plucky barrister last week showed he can deal deftly with both modes of conflict. Piers Wauchope of London set 5 Pump Court stepped in to help break up a scrap that had broken out at Snaresbrook Crown Court between two defendants he was prosecuting for a burglary. As they were being brought into court, the pair had just discovered they had each blamed the other for the offences. They landed a punch on a security guard before the courageous Wauchope stepped in to restore order. After the incident, and with consummate professionalism, Wauchope, whose spectacles were knocked off in the scuffle, simply readjusted his wig and returned to his position to continue prosecuting the unruly duo (who pleaded guilty incidentally). Later Wauchope told court staff: ‘Oh, it was nothing.’ Obiter applauds his modesty.