Law student numbers surge as Littlejohn cries Woolf

The Times legal section (15 October) launched a special edition this week aimed at the relentless surge of students wishing to take up law, despite the legal profession having what the paper described as 'a public image to rival that of estate agents'.

This explored the motivations - cash and otherwise - of the 13,035 students accepted on undergraduate degree courses this year, and tackled questions of quality control of courses, and the skills necessary to practise.

One man who may well place lawyers below estate agents is tabloid columnist Richard Littlejohn, who railed against the power of the judiciary in a piece headlined 'Who will save us from the men in wigs?' (The Sun, 16 October).

Opprobrium was heaped on the appeal by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, to judges to 'be prepared to be unpopular in making a stand to prevent the government "scoring an own goal" in the fight against terrorism,' and support for his views from the judiciary.

Of the Human Rights Act, Mr Littlejohn said: 'It has turned out to be a charter for terrorists, violent criminals, drug dealers, nonces, assorted troublemakers and chancers.

And a goldmine for lawyers.'

He warned: 'Now the judges are using the Act to frustrate the government's attempts to protect the security of the nation.' His answer? 'I've always believed that judges should be elected.'

It may not be quite the election that Mr Littlejohn meant, but Lord Woolf can take heart that he was voted as the 75th most influential man in Britain by GQ magazine (October issue), which cited the fact that he keeps the government in check as one reason for his appeal.

This means the Lord Chief Justice pipped the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, who came in at 79th on the list.

GQ gave this 'outspoken but crucial member of Tony Blair's cabinet' the sobriquet of 'The Enforcer'.

News that media specialist solicitor Keith Schilling (clients: Kate Winslett, Naomi Campbell, Daryl Hannah and Elizabeth Hurley) beat both these eminent legal Lords by sneaking in as the 68th most influential man in Britain may send eyebrows soaring.

This being a GQ list, the suspicion might be that some of Mr Schilling's curvaceous clients swayed the jury, but the magazine's verdict is final: 'Rich? Powerful? Ruthless? Successful? Guilty as charged, Your Honour,' it concludes of the influential libel solicitor.

'Sex, pay, politics, scandals and ethics - City lawyers lay their lives bare on the Internet' was the scintillating headline that the Independent on Sunday (19 0ctober) used to describe the revolutionary effect on the lives of lawyers caused by Web site Roll on Friday.

The article - while touching on the humorous side of the site - also made the important point that job-hunting lawyers use the site to vet firms, and that it is used by partners and assistants alike, something of a novelty.

Lawyers specialising in legally-aided family work have cause to be hunting for alternative employment, according to a report in The Times (22 Oct).

The paper reported: 'Dozens of solicitors and barristers who do legal aid work are dropping out of divorce and family cases because they earn no more than a call-out fee for a plumber'.

Finally, The Independent also turned its eye to another serious subject - the procedures for setting prison sentences for murders (22 Oct).

The paper reported on the on-going challenge before the House of Lords that calls into question the home secretary's powers to overrule the judiciary in setting minimum tariffs for life prisoners.

It predicted that if the Lords rule in favour of the three current appellants, the decision 'could lead to other killers being freed and might even pave the way for the release of Myra Hindley'.

Jeremy Fleming and Jonathan Ames