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I have Alan Blacker as a contact on Linkedin. We seldom share the same view and I have quietly enjoyed watching his comments and seeing the sometimes heated replies to his ranting. We need people like Alan, as the character he brings to law makes it a brighter place. I have no idea how good he is, or how his Clients regard him. However, from his comments after the incident in question he clearly feels in need of recognition. The use of apparently redundant Irish title, and the need to express himself in such a way so as he feels accepted as being equal to a Barrister, smack of some deep rooted issues. In England we love eccentrics, and sewing St Johns Ambulance badges onto your robe certainly qualifies you as such in my opinion. But eccentricities aside, there is a bigger issue here, one of passing off or certainly in misleading the public. Describing yourself as “of Counsel” means nothing in English law, but it does create an impression that you are a Barrister. The judge was wrong to mention the wig as it’s the same wig for Barristers and Solicitor Advocates and he had a right to wear it, and the Judge should have known that. The Judge was right though, Alan needed reining in. If he was improperly dressed he was lucky he was even heard at all. Unfortunately, Alan will get the recognition he craves, but for the wrong reasons. He was after all, a lawyer in a court of law, not a waiter in TGI Friday.

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