Pacific adventure The latest solicitor to chuck it all in and head for the post of People's Lawyer of Tuvalu, a Pacific Island state 12,000 miles away, is Nick Barnes, a former civil litigator in Exeter.

However, while one of his predecessors, Philip Ells, turned his experience into a book last year (see [2000] Gazette, 25 May, 34), Mr Barnes seems content with an article in Newcastle Law Society's magazine.

As the only private lawyer in Tuvalu, the fourth smallest country in the world, Mr Barnes has to tackle a wide range of problems, but he seems more concerned by pigs.

In particular, he reported being chased by a pig on one island 'which evidently thought I was lunch or that I should have at least brought it for him'.

Nonetheless, he concludes that his experience shows there is more to being a solicitor than the daily drudgery of England.

'You could find yourself sitting cross-legged in a meeting hall drinking coconuts and singing Pacific war chants.' Now there's an offer.