We can imagine that Mr Justice Eady had something of a playful smile on his face when penning one section of his judgment on the appeal over the costs of the Sara Cox case. A point of dispute was whether Ms Cox's solicitor, Keith Schilling, should be able to claim a higher hourly rate than the costs judge had allowed. To prove the London solicitor's unique qualities, various articles were put into evidence, such as his presence in GQ's list of the 100 most powerful men in Britain ('albeit only at No 68,' the judge noted), and features on him from The Guardian and The Independent.

It is interesting to see some of the random quotes from the articles that the judge chose to extract in his judgment, such as The Guardian's description of Mr Schilling having 'world-weary features and what appears to be expensively coloured hair'. He also mentioned that the sobriquet 'Prince of Darkness', used in The Indie, was coined by Mr Schilling himself. It is hard to see this as anything other than Mr Justice Eady having a bit of fun at the expense of a solicitor with whom he is no doubt well acquainted given the intimate world of media litigation.


Because the judge then went on to say that it was hard to see what a costs judge is meant to do with such material, explaining, rather amusingly: 'I am naturally conscious that since the fundamental culture change some years ago, whereby advertising for lawyers was not only permitted but positively encouraged, there is a danger that some people will begin to believe their own publicity. Those of a naturally modest and retiring character are likely to lose out to those more inclined to self-proclamation.'


In the end, he rejected the appeal on this issue - including the further argument that such is Mr Schilling's reputation, defendants more readily respond to his points/requests - and will no doubt have to buy Mr Schilling and his slightly bruised ego a drink next time the two meet outside court.