Heirs apparent are lined up as Carman tributes pour in

Fleet Street seemed to be bathed in a pleasantly post-festive haze last week, as the first week of 2001 saw the papers give the legal profession a fairly easy ride.The major story - and one that was picked up by practically all the papers in an otherwise slow week - was the death on 2 January of 'Gorgeous' George Carman, barrister extraordinaire who filled the front pages in death as he did in life.

Among the gushing tributes, The Times (3 January) described the 'courtroom legend' as 'one of the greatest advocates of the 20th century' and mourned the fact that the world would be 'robbed' of his 'anxiously awaited memoirs', which 'were expected to be a combination of character assassination and political campaigning'.

The Independent (3 January) said the 'dapper' Carman 'made newspapers worth reading' by his 'wit, the nastiness of his cross-examination, and his seeming ability to produce last-minute evidence which undermined his opponent's case'.Mr Carman's death leaves the field open for the title of 'most famous lawyer in the land', as proposed by Marcel Berlins in The Guardian (8 January).

He suggested Michael Mansfield QC or Helena Kennedy QC.Courtroom duels may look somewhat different in the future, if plans to reveal defendants' previous convictions to juries go ahead (see [2001] Gazette, 5 January, 5).

The Guardian (1 January) described the proposals as 'alarming' and 'extremely dangerous', with civil liberties groups warning that 'the move could see innocent people convicted on the grounds that they were roughly, probably or even maybe guilty'.

However, The Sun (2 January) welcomed the plan, raging that 'the libertarians have had it their own way for far too long', and said that 'defendants walk free time and time again because they have duped the jury or hired the same clever lawyer that got them off last time'.The possibility that the Law Society might relax some of the rules relating to solicitors cold-calling clients saw the papers break out into a cold sweat.

But the fact that the Society is only looking at relaxing the rules for business-to-business contact was lost amid a welter of scare stories that the proposals 'raise the prospect of competition between solicitors and double glazing salesmen for doorstep space' (Financial Times, 2 January).This led into predictable rants, like the one by Tony Parsons in The Mirror (8 January), slamming the 'stinking' compensation culture turning Britain into a 'nation of ambulance chasers', where 'nobody can stub their toes without putting a paw out for compensation'.Another long runner resurfaced this week, with the government's plans to introduce compulsory sellers' packs for house-buyers coming under fire.

The packs were 'too costly' according to The Telegraph (8 January) which also criticised plans to make it an offence to market properties without a pack.Bad news for the next generation of 21st century lawyers: Home Office Minister Charles Clarke, the man The Guardian (8 January) described as 'the next leader of the Labour party', has a less than positive attitude towards the legal profession.

He admits to being 'surrounded by lawyers' in his present job, but said his worry is that the Bar Council and the Law Society are 'more about the self-interest of the legal profession rather than the interest of society as a whole'.The biggest dreamer may be Lesley Macdonagh, managing partner of City firm Lovells, who told The Guardian's question-and-answer column (6 January) that her greatest management mistake was 'agreeing to choose the firm's Christmas card', gin and tonic is her preferred method of relaxation, and her dream job is chief executive of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy.Victoria MacCallum