Irvines unlikely saviour is his profitable wallpaper

Spring may be a washout for the majority of us, but for Lord Chancellor, Derry Irvine, the clouds swamping both him and the country seem to have a glimmer of a silver lining.Admittedly, even by Lord Irvines usual standards, the clouds were particularly heavy ones, with the Sun (7 April) cheerfully predicting that Blair will dump Derry in a post-election cabinet reshuffle.

Gaffe prone Lord Irvine will apparently be replaced just days after the general election, owing to his bullying style which upset and enraged senior ministers and law lords.The Sun dug the knife in deeper in an editorial, pronouncing that Tony Blairs old pal is so out of touch with ordinary people that hes actually an embarrassment to Labour.

While approving of Irvine getting the chop, it asked, with one final twist: Why wait till the election?However, the week was not entirely doom and gloom for the embattled Lord Chancellor, as The Times (4 April) revealed how he has confounded his critics in raising 2 million for charity by throwing open his famously wallpapered apartments.

An aura of smugness must have radiated through the Lord Chancellors Department as it was announced last week that the hugely controversial 650,000 refurbishment of the Lord Chancellors apartments which caused a storm two years ago particularly the use of 300-a-roll Pugin-designed flock wallpaper has more than proved its worth.The apartments are apparently a very popular venue for charitable events, arguably all the more so because people like to come and see the famous decor, and since 1998 some 16,500 visitors have trooped through to admire the walls and 3,000 privy.Favourable press reports for Lord Irvines fellow members of the judiciary were, however, few and far between.

It was business as usual later that week with one of Britains most senior women judges delivering a forceful critique of the judicial appointment system, which is apparently grossly unrepresentative and just not good enough to secure the democratic legitimacy of the judiciary (The Times, 4 April).

Dame Brenda Hale, a Court of Appeal judge, said the system was riddled with assumptions about what constituted merit and marred by the perceived need for judges to be drawn mainly from the ranks of Queens Counsel.Dr Ali Malik, a disgraced lawyer who had his legal aid franchise withdrawn for employing unqualified staff to handle legal work was unmasked by The Mirror (9 April) as having now found more profitable employment acting as the sidekick to News of the World investigative reporter Mazher Mahmood.

The glamour of legal aid work was left behind as he disguised himself in a sheikh costume last week and led Sophie Wessex to indiscreet revelations, disapproval from the in-laws and her decision to step aside as chairman of the R-JH PR agency.

Another lawyer who tired of the hustle and bustle of legal life albeit for rather different reasons was Michelle Paver, revealed by the Daily Mail (4 April) as giving up her high-flying City career at a top ten firm with its all-night meetings and champagne splurges to become a poorly paid novelist and finding true contentment en route.And finally, the uncomfortable comparison with the legal profession and rats returned in The Observers Sport Monthlys Back flick section (8 April), recalling great moments in sport.

Picturing the sinking ship that was the Cambridge boat race crew in 1978, the magazine ran through what subsequently happened to the crew.

The crews president, Mark Horton, is now at Slaughter and May, while cox Guy Henderson is with fellow City giant Allen & Overy.

When the water started coming into our boat, Mr Horton perceptively told the magazine, I knew we were in trouble.Victoria MacCallum