I enjoyed reading Gordon Turner’s reflections on his experience of acting as a juror (see [2010] Gazette, 27 May, 10).

It is good advice to instruct solicitors to act less like lawyers, given the impact that the profession’s rights and obligations seem to have on its practitioners’ attitudes and mannerisms.

However, I think that part of Mr Turner’s sense of enlightenment at having undertaken the task of deciding a fellow citizen’s fate may also be due to the fact that acting in the capacity of a juror is almost like harking back to the days when a litigator was a trainee solicitor.

My memory of that time is highlighted by the many opportunities I had to sit and observe not only the proceedings, but also my mentors, opponents and the judiciary, with little or none of the pressure associated with presenting the case.

The wealth of knowledge that is acquired through that experience is something that lawyers involved in the preparation of cases have little or no time to engage in.

Perhaps, part of the mantra, ‘try to be a little less like lawyers’, includes taking the time to observe and learn.

Stephen Taylor, Senior associate, BanksideLaw, London SE1