Legal Week: It’s on yer bike for m’luds: “At any other time, one suspects that Mr Justice Laddie’s decision to quit the High Court and join his old chums at Willoughby & Partners would have amounted to a minor revolution for the judiciary. By stepping down early and returning to private practice, Laddie has broken with the age-old convention that once a judge, always a judge.”: 7 July 2005   

Time to change the judges’ ‘life sentence’

At any other time, one suspects that Mr Justice Laddie’s decision to quit the High Court and join his old chums at Willoughby & Partners would have amounted to a minor revolution for the judiciary. By stepping down early and returning to private practice, Laddie has broken with the age-old convention that once a judge, always a judge.

However, in the context of the current whirlwind of reform sweeping through the bench Laddie’s move has, at the most, caused a minor squall within the Inns of Court.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, is currently reviewing the ban on judges returning to practise at the Bar. He is batting on a sticky wicket.

For a start, there has been talk that Falconer himself has been considering returning to private practice after his spell in public office.

Presumably, there would be nothing to prevent him, given that recent Government reforms have seen him give up his judicial responsibilities.

And then there is the fact that he has been making repeated calls for the judiciary to become more representative of society at large.

What, after all, could be more ‘modern’ than a touch of job mobility? By finding a route out of the upper echelons of the judiciary, as well as into them, Laddie may also provide inspiration to the band of talented younger barristers who are reluctant to join the bench for fear of committing themselves to a life sentence.

The current feeling within the Bar Council is that it would be a step too far to countenance senior judges rejoining the Bar and appearing before their former judicial colleagues in major cases.

But there have already been whispers that the ban may be legally suspect and it is certainly a debate worth having.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other potential avenues for senior judges with itchy feet to explore — in both public life and the world of commerce and industry.

With any luck, it won’t be too long before a Court of Appeal judge packs it all in to become a teacher, or set up a small business, or do something else that normal people do.

Author: John Malpas

Source: Legal Week

Start Date: 07/07/2005

End Date: 14/07/2005 

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