Press round-up

The Financial Times covered Freshfields' merger with German firm Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Lber on its front page (21 June), but most of the column inches devoted to lawyers were hogged by the judiciary.

The Times and the Independent profiled the popular and liberal new Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf (20 June).

Both depicted him as a 'latter-day Lord Denning' who is prepared to take a dynamic role and create law or stand up to the government if necessary.

Andneither managed to track down a commentator with a bad word to say about him.

But The Times did manage to rattle out some slightly anti-Woolf editorial: 'He does not seem a natural leader.

His manner can seem diffident.' It pointed out his slight speech impediment, and also discovered that he once spent the night at a police station during a riotous rag week.The London Evening Standard chose another judge to profile (22 June).

Its spotlight on Lord 'Legover Lenny' Hoffman painted the senior judge as 'the "hanging judge" who believes in the good life'.

It managed to track down a lawyer who described him as arrogant, and another who said: 'Like Oscar Wilde, he takes great enjoyment from his own spontaneity.'The Times diary noted that the Lord Chancellor's Department is learning to spin (20 June).

It published an 'unflattering report' of solicitors' views about discrimination against them in the judicial appointments system late one Thursday night.

It noted that press coverage was 'predictably minimal'.

The story was picked up in The Guardian the following day, which described the report as 'embarrassing' for the Lord Chancellor.

It pointed out that lawyers who were most satisfied with the system are white male barristers belonging to the silk-producing 'elite' chambers.The Times looked at judicial minds, following Sir Leonard Peach's report into judicial appointments and QC selection in December 1999, which recommended that prospective judges take psychometric tests at an initial assessment centre (20 June).

Occupational psychologist Richard Ahlberg wrote: 'Candidates are assessed purely on ability and personality: there is no room for unquantifiable "opinion" or bias.' He argued that being a good barrister or solicitor does not necessarily make you a good judge, adding: 'An entrepreneurial, go-getting solicitor may not be best suited to the often bureaucratic and under-funded system within which judges operate.' Most of the nationals took against government plans for a paid public defender service.

The Times was unconvinced that the Lord Chancellor's plans to introduce a service in competition with private practice would work (20 June).

It warned: 'A new and very powerful player will, if it functions properly, destroy many a firm's criminal department.' But that is not all: 'There will be cutbacks, increased workloads, all the things that bedevil the [Crown Prosecution Service].

But this time it will be a question of the government stifling the right of the citizen to a full defence.' Several papers picked up on the story of the barrister who was arrested in the Euro 2000 football riots, although none managed to uncover his identity or establish whether the alleged hooligan barrister was part of a set of rioting clerks and other colleagues.

The Daily Mail asked: 'Who is the black-gowned, bewigged figure in pinstripes hurling lager bottles at cowering foreigners?' (21 June).

And it went on to speculate whether this was a new way of drumming up business.

That day, The Times ran a story on lawyers' opposition to plans to introduce 'draconian' laws to tackle football hooliganism in breach of a suspects' civil liberties.

The mystery barrister hooligan was not mentioned.Under the headline: 'Barristers' hooliganism halts Inns of Court charity ball,' the Independent jumped on the hooligan barrister bandwagon (23 June).

It reported that judges have refused to host next year's Inns of Court Ball because guests have been known to enjoy a tipple.

This will no doubt come as a surprise to many.The London Evening Standard pointed out the same day that the Inner Temple 'have been less than pleased by the reputation forraucousness and drinking that the ball has now gained' (23 June).

Anne Mizzi