Despairing interests in UK, world & sailing politics, justice & leasehold reform. Barrister, KBG Chambers. Writer. Poet. Windsurfer. Cyclist. Ed Bd of 'Counsel'
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Apr 12 ā¢ 4 tweets ā¢ 1 min read
@g_passamonti I'm interested why you should say that, it doesn't chime with my experience, which is that mediation can work in any form of dispute but much depends on the quality of the mediator. I do, however, agree mandatory mediation is a bad idea. 1/
@g_passamonti Mandatory mediation will devalue the importance of these claims to individuals, it will be exploited, it devalues the importance of a right of universal redress, it will increase the failure rate of mediations & it will lead to disenchantment with mediation & the legal system. 2/
When I write an open Opinion, ie for disclosure, I set out my instructions to allow the inclusion of a paragraph that there is no greater waiver of privilege. So something along these lines:
"As this Opinion is being written for the purposes of disclosure...
2/
Jun 22, 2022 ā¢ 14 tweets ā¢ 5 min read
The perniciousness of the position Homes England ('HE') is taking is that the HTB Mortgage gives HE no power to do this. Sorry this is going to require a thread (please read what follows as commentary NOT legal advice) ā¦ 1/
Unusually in a mortgage it is the borrower who has control under the HTB redemption clauses (for early redemption in full without a sale it's Clause 7). HE can either agree a valuer or not in which case HE or the borrower can ask the Chairman of the RICS to appoint one ā¦ 2/
Apr 20, 2021 ā¢ 9 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
What the Government should be legislating for re defective building work/products is: 1) extending the limitation period for suing for defects 2) extending builders/manufacturers/suppliers/fitters duty of care 3) making non-means tested civil legal aid available for claims. 1/
If there had still been a functioning civil legal aid system some of the problems detected post-Grenfell would undoubtedly already have been remedied.
It's very easy to look at problems individually & overlook the big picture, which is that we have wholesale systemic 2/
Sep 9, 2020 ā¢ 5 tweets ā¢ 1 min read
Just having an attack of remorse, I've been indulging in graveyard humour about the Government & Europe when I should be saying something meaningful about the #claddingscandal & Downing Street being lit green to show 'solidarity' to mark the third THIRD anniversary of Grenfell 1/
...while people remain trapped slowly (or not so slowly) running out of money in unsaleable &, potentially life-threatening flats . Actually my anger at that is inexpressible, so instead, legal Twitter, what about solutions? 2/
Aug 12, 2020 ā¢ 4 tweets ā¢ 4 min read
@sacrebleurgh@nearlylegal@HomeownersLandQ I think there may be a difference between retro-fitted cladding and cladding present from inception. The fitting of the cladding is, arguably, actionable as nuisance, breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, & derogation from grant. Test is objective & doesn't depend on... 1/@sacrebleurgh@nearlylegal@HomeownersLandQ ...standards prevailing at the time, unlike negligence. Once a cause of action exists there is the potential for injunctive relief/damages. Whether injunction would extend to compelling obtaining of an EWS1 is interesting but impact damages might indirectly compel. The ... 2/
May 4, 2020 ā¢ 12 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
While the aftermath of the Covid 19 Pandemic is likely to be disastrous not just for this country but for counties and individuals across the world, it doesnāt necessarily have to be. In this thread Iām going to suggest how the worst might be avoided. 1/
First, while the probable negative effects are being commented upon, there isnāt much evidence of any co-ordinated planning to offset the anticipated effects of the massive escalation of global and individual debt. 2/
Apr 23, 2020 ā¢ 11 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
Rose VP in R. v. Bradley [2005] EWCA Crim. 20:
āIt is in the public interest that the criminal law and its procedures, so far as possible, be clear and straightforward so that all those directly affected, in particular, defendants, victims, the police, the probation service...1/
ā¦ jurors, lawyers for defence or prosecution, judges and magistrates, professional and lay, should be readily able to understand it. Sadly the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which we have had to consider on this appeal, are, as is apparent ā¦ 2/
Mar 26, 2020 ā¢ 12 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
This mad piece of late-night whimsy may not be totally mad - think of the practical benefits but start with whatās going to happen if nations have to deal with the crisis nationally, In a nutshell
...
...the World economy is going to be tanked by Covid 19; whatever is done on a national level there will be a legacy of misery & debt which will put financial pressure on individual countries. Increases in debt repayments will drive taxes up, quality of services down.
...
Feb 10, 2020 ā¢ 10 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
@David_Whiteside@BarristerSecret Just to give you a couple of example:
First:
Years ago as a pupil I represented a woman who presented as battered wife; she said her husband had on this occasion stabbed her with a broken milk bottle, not a deep wound but a nasty one for which she had had to have stitches & ..1/
@David_Whiteside@BarristerSecret ...there was no doubt about it because while we were waiting to get on, the stitches came apart & she had to go to hospital & be re-stitched & my solicitor took her & had to speak to the treating doctor so the judge could be told when she was coming back. It was an emergency ..2/
Jan 22, 2020 ā¢ 7 tweets ā¢ 2 min read
There may be an element of the fridge calling the freezer white in this & @snigskitchen did something a bit similar sooner but here's a poem I've called:
"Lol"
which, I'm told, can be a diminutive of Laurence.
(c) Rawdon Crozier 2020; licensed for not for profit transmission
1/
I.
I'm so mad
I just can't stand it
Yet the world can't see my plight
I get no sympathy or comfort
For being rich
And male
And white.
2/
Jan 16, 2020 ā¢ 7 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
@LKPleasehold@suejbright A problem with leasehold & it will be as much of a problem with new build freeholds into which developers are now introducing a range of charges & restrictive covenants is that the quantity of important information is almost too much for buyers to assimilate; there is an ... 1/@LKPleasehold@suejbright ... āunderstanding deficitā (my description), which studies have consistently picked up, even when everything has prima facie been explained properly & for which lazy stock rationalisations (āpeople donāt read things properly/pay attentionā) cannot fully account. My view is ...2/
Jan 10, 2020 ā¢ 9 tweets ā¢ 7 min read
@WiswasBelle@NLC_2019 Thatās not the right narrative; margins are actually quite tight in conveyancing & what happened is that by choosing the ārepetition & volume guysā (thatās an unusual piece of candour in select committee evidence) as recommended solicitors the national housebuilders pushed ...1/
@WiswasBelle@NLC_2019 ...margins down further & that undoubtedly had an impact on the quality of service. There is also no doubt that the legal profession did not acquit itself well in identifying onerous ground rents & that those, who as a result received bad conveyancing advice, have not always.. 2/
Sep 29, 2019 ā¢ 17 tweets ā¢ 6 min read
After @CivilLitTweet commented that his apple crumble recipe had generated more attention than his legal tweets, it occurred to me that what the twittersphere needs is law & recipes but in the same thread. So ... chocolate chip cake & estoppel 1/@CivilLitTweet Make sure you have the necessary ingredients:
Egg
Self-raising Flour
Sugar
Butter or similar
Mixing bowl
Scales
Promise or expectation
Reliance
Detriment
A property element
Sep 26, 2019 ā¢ 11 tweets ā¢ 3 min read
Starting to worry about the use of āelitesā almost as much as ātraitorā ābetrayalā & āsurrenderā. Thereās no concurrency of meaning in terms of which group is the āeliteā. Generally it means ārich people who are on the other side of the argumentā; it allows the person using 1/
the word to self identify as the plucky little underdog, however false a narrative that may be. But not all the wealthy wield the same amount of influence and it is not only the wealthy who wield influence in any event. 2/
Sep 6, 2019 ā¢ 8 tweets ā¢ 2 min read
The tension that still exists in the Common Law & is being played out between @JolyonMaugham & @joannaccherry & @BorisJohnson at this moment : āCoke CJ claimed the jurisdiction to correct āerrors & misdemeanours extrajudicial... or any other manner of misgovernmentā ... 1/
... Lord Ellesmere C objected ā...he doth as much insinuate this court is all sufficient ... to manage the state ... as if the Kingās Bench had a superintendency over the Government itself.āā Baker āAn Introduction to English Legal Historyā. While most of the arguments 2/
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