dataprotection
I’m not going to usurp those who know a lot more than me (Panopticon, I’m looking at you). But today’s Supreme Court decisions on vicarious liability are a big deal. There’s a thematic beauty to the fact that the Supreme Court decided to release its judgments
offtopic
Certainly feels that way. Thank goodness for Scarfolk. I think the phrase comes from an episode of Community, but if there is such a thing as the multiverse, then a non-negligible number of people think that since 2016 at least, we’ve been living in what’s been termed the
coronavirus
Forgive me for going personal for a minute… A quick one. I don’t know if I’ve got you-know-what. Symptoms don’t entirely match – only a very mild tightness in the chest and a very occasional cough. But my temperature is north of 38 most of the time, my
annotation
I’m not saying it’s unheard of. But it’s vanishingly rare to find a barrister who works on paper and who doesn’t festoon her bundle with sticky notes – whether purpose-made and translucent, or torn-up Post-Its. Combined with cardboard tabs to create sections, it works. But in a
bundles
As I may have mentioned, I can’t say I’m upset at the demise (at least for the moment) of the paper bundle, and the normalisation of delivering a soft one. But what if you’re instead faced with all kinds of disparate files, and you’re the one
coronavirus
Opinion klaxon: I’m in the minority who actually like GDPR – while of course acknowledging its faults. But in these strange times, I agree with one of the wisest tech essayists I know. We’ve already given the keys to the data kingdom away to surveillance capitalism. Time to put
howto
There are far too many PDF apps out there. Pick one, learn it inside and out, and make it work for you. Although I do have my preference. And it’s not Adobe Acrobat. This is in essence a shameless plug for the app that, more than anything else, made
finances
Stepping away from professional life for a minute: my favourite online piano tutor has an offer running, which I’d jump at if I wasn’t already a subscriber. And the new UK self-employment support scheme? New barristers may get nothing. And pay loads… Two quick things. One I hope
guestpost
Pupils are having a particularly weird time of it. Ours started Second Six in early March, just as the virus started hitting hard. So Courtney Marsden‘s first experience of real-world advocacy was distinctly different from mine… I have spent a lot of time imagining what my first ever trial
howto
Format-wise, PDF is a no-brainer. Getting stuff into PDF format isn’t too much of a pain, either. Some might well wonder why I’m even discussing the pros and cons of PDF as a standard file format for papers and such. After all, it’s pretty much the standard.
deskdujour
Zara and I were at Bar School together. She’s now at the FCA. And her desk puts mine to shame… Oh dear. I didn’t think the desk-shaming would start this quickly. But Zara’s is an example of organisation and nice angles. Liking the colour of the backlit
sanity
So important, it needs to be in shouty caps. Sorry. A very old friend just commented on my desk du jour pic, noting the lack of “a bluetooth/app-controlled espresso machine”. Can’t argue with the principle of the thing, including the absolute centrality of caffeinated beverages to a successful