The Bubble Reputation

I've been watching the old 70s legal drama Rumpole of the Bailey - written by the author and barrister John Mortimer. Some episodes are based on real cases, so a must for any aspiring lawyer. Although Mortimer doesn't dwell on points of law, it's television after all, he does give a fascinating insight into the sort of characters you might encounter should you be unlucky enough to require their services.

Horace Rumpole himself is of course the central character, played by the very excellent Leo McKern , who is the only one in chambers, as far as I can tell, guided by reasonable principles and a degree of intelligence - others around him tend to be slightly idiotic and/or morally dubious in some way. I don't think I've heard Rumpole say one good thing about any of the Old Bailey judges. I love Rumpole's quiet commentary, his thoughts as he encounters various court annoyances and also his reflections on life when on his way to either court or chambers, his second home away from 'she who must be obeyed' (the wife Hilda) at their modest pad in the Gloucester Road - he quotes a lot of poetry, Wordsworth, usually - brilliant.

The other barristers all aspire to become QCs or 'silks' as they're known; compared to Rumpole, who steadfastly refuses to be elevated, content with being a mere Old Bailey hack, have been made to look extremely petty and ridiculous at times. I wonder if Mortimer was slighted by the establishment in some way? - tbh I can't imagine being represented by any of Rumpole's colleagues, QC or not; especially the somewhat idiotic Claude Erskine-Brown - although an actor playing a part, people like him actually still exist in the legal profession, I'm sure of it.

The only time Rumpole's moral compass was tested was when he was offered a libel case, a civil action which under normal circumstances Rumpole would give a derisive snort of derision. However, needs must, and when offered £500 per day plus expenses, that was a lot in those days, and a dreaded retirement looming large on the horizon - gift horse etc. In fact he became a bit over-excited by the prospect of feathering his retirement nest-egg and even said at one point that he was going to 'stretch it out until the trump of doom'!! A lot of people have fallen victim to that attitude/scam, myself included.

Anyway, this libel action - the episode in question is entitled Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation - the plot: Maurice Machin, the unscrupulous editor of the Daily Beacon, tells Rumpole that an article in his paper by one Stella January alleged that Amelia Nettleship, an author of so-called historical novels, has affairs with married men and is suing the paper and Maurice Machin for libel. This turns out to be a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and Rumpole ends-up throwing in the towel having been duped by the allegedly feuding pair - according to Mortimer people often abuse the libel laws, which was the reason for this episode.

When it all went pear-shaped Rumpole pledged to never touch another civil action, crime is the only honest living to be had in his chosen trade. In fact in the final episode he raises a glass and toasts the criminal fraternity, to thank them for keeping him employed. True enough, without crime they'd all be unemployed, save for the millionaire civil lot, that is.

Ah, the civil lawsuit - a fools errand if ever there is one - some achieve justice, whatever that is? Show a legal document to any three lawyers and likely as not you'll get three different opinions - which of course makes their advice almost worthless. You know you're in trouble when they start arguing over the meaning of a single word > 'ceased' in my case. According to Rumpole, being a lawyer has very little to do with the law - worth remember that, especially if a lawyer mentions the Trusts of Land and Appointments of Trustees Act 1996 (UK law) - take my advice and walk away - unless of course you can afford to lose your shirt and don't mind the hassle and misery it undoubtedly causes.

In my case, the claim issued against me was complicated, I suppose family disputes always are; it was a vexatious claim that involved coercion, perjury, a false statement, the fraudulent sale of land, redacted emails, solicitor negligence, failure to investigate pertinent issues, solicitors misleading the court etc etc. Indeed, the shenanigans were on a biblical scale, it would take a very wealthy person indeed to unravel and rectify the situation, such that it is.... So, I lost the case on what was a misunderstood point of law that literally turned logic on its head i.e. although the court accepted that someone (the claimant) had 'ceased' to live in the property, they still had a right at law to reenter the property at will, which made our tenure of the disputed property impossible in the circumstances.

The libel aspect of my case arose when documents were exchanged inter partes. The claimant's bundle included a letter written by a nurse to the claimant's GP stating as fact an event that didn't happen as stated two years previous - in other words, mistaken facts. Because the Particulars of Claim filed with the court stated the correct version of events, my solicitor didn't really see the need to investigate or to simply ask the GP if these events were true and have said GP make a statement. The issue is, although the letter was apparently buried in a so-called disputed bundle, it misled the judge to the extent that he went against what was admitted by the claimant and tacitly agreed by the defence, in the particulars, and included the healthcare professionals mistaken version of events. This hugely damaging story was then included in the Judgement Statement, or work of fiction, as I like to call it, and was used as the excuse to land me with costs - a considerable sum! There is a further issue of whether or not a criminal offence has taken place, was there a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice? I believe that there was a conspiracy.

So we've ended up with a Judgement Statement from a Recorder Judge that bears very little resemblance to the truth. Where is Rumpole when you need him?

Relevant links:

Rumpole of the Bailey DVD boxset
Leo McKern obituary (The Guardian)

L eo McKern (Wikipedia)

John Mortimer (books)