Facing the music

Telephone conferencing has become a tactical minefield, if discussions at the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) annual conference are anything to go by.

APIL president Frances McCarthy explained that during one recent case she accidentally turned up in person to a conference that was meant to be held on the telephone.

She did not regret her mistake.

I could see the judges facial expressions as my opponent put his arguments across on the phone.

It was a great advantage I won.

But APIL secretary Mark Harvey suggested that seeing the judge is not always for the best.

He said: During one telephone conference with a judge, I made my submission, and there was a pause before he replied: Id like to see your face when you make that argument.