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Henry Brooke

Musings, Memories and Miscellanea

  • Home Page
  • ACCESS TO JUSTICE
    • Hackney Law Centre: (1) Housing cases
    • The Manchester bomb: Lawyers to the rescue
    • My 2007 lecture on Pro Bono Legal Services
    • Possession hearings & the closure of Lambeth County Court
    • The North Kensington Law Centre and Grenfell Tower
    • My talk at the Hackney Law Centre
  • BACH COMMISSION
    • The Bach Report: (1) Its message
      • The Bach Report: (2) My article for the Gazette
      • The Bach Report: (2A) Two speeches at the launch of the report
      • The Bach Report: (3) The use of technology
      • The Bach Report: (4) Legal aid lawyers & the effect of LASPO
      • The Bach Report: (5) Family Law
      • The Bach Report: (6) The effect of the cuts on Legal Aid Providers
      • The Bach Report: (7) Criminal Justice
      • The Bach Report (8) Housing Law
      • The Bach report: (9) Cost implications and potential savings
      • The Bach Report: (10) Welfare benefits
      • The Bach Report: (11) Immigration law
      • The Bach Report: (12) The legal aid gateway telephone service
      • The Bach Report: (13) Exceptional case funding
      • The Bach Report: (14) Legal representation at inquests
      • The Bach Report: (15) The rights of children to access to justice
      • The Bach Report: (16) Judicial Review
      • The Bach Report: (17) Law centres and the law centres network
      • The Bach Report: (18) Advice services
      • The Bach Report: (19) Public legal education
    • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 8 (The Society of Labour Lawyers)
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 7 (The Bar Council)
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 6 (The Law Society)
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 5 (Roger Smith)
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 4 (Professor Susskind)
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 3 [revised] (Lord Low & Steve Hynes’ evidence)
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 2
      • The new Access to Justice Commission: Update 1
      • The Bach Commission: Stories of Injustice (Volume 1)
      • The Bach Commission: Stories of Injustice (Volume 2)
  • DIVERSITY
    • Cross-cultural communication at the Bar: then and now
    • Improving race relations at the Bar: What we achieved 25 years ago
    • Some thoughts about the Lammy Report
    • David Lammy’s Review of Criminal Justice: My Talk on Sentencing in 1993
    • Her Honour Judge Anuja Ravindra Dhir
    • A Visit to Canada: Canadian Judicial Education in 1993
    • The 1993 Kapila Lecture
    • Two fine lawyers: (2) Courtenay Griffiths QC
    • Gender Equality and the Judiciary: A Commonwealth Perspective
      • A need for greater empathy
      • A need for greater empathy (2)
  • FALSE ACCUSATIONS
    • Stories of Injustice (19)
    • Some comments on my last blog (Stories of Injustice No 19)
    • Further comments on Stories of Injustice No 19
    • Stories of Injustice (20)
  • HUMAN RIGHTS
    • The travel ban litigation: Peculiar happenings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
      • President Trump and the Courts: the advantages of transparency
  • IT AND THE LAW
    • Collection of old papers on IT and the Law
    • IT and the Courts: Treasury inertia for 15 years
    • Judge John Tanzer retires: his massive contribution to Judicial I.T.
    • The Online Court Hackathon
    • The Digital Court System – the future has arrived
    • The new AdviceLocal postcode tool
  • JUDGMENTS
    • Judgments: the best opening lines – and a few more
    • Lord Denning’s unique prose style: 34 more examples
    • Miscellany of the Best Opening Lines etc – Part 2
    • Opening Lines, Part III: Richard III and a Leicester car park
    • Opening lines & memorable passages in judgments – Part IV
    • Memorable judgments (5): When is a decision not a decision?
    • Judgments Part VI: Opening lines & memorable passages
  • LASPO REVIEW
    • The LASPO Review: (1) My recent talk about the Bach Commission’s report on the Right to Justice
    • The LASPO Review: (2) My address to the Bar Conference
  • LAW REFORM
    • The Law Commission and the protection of official data
      • The origins of the statutory discount rate for lump sum personal injury awards
      • What is the meaning of the discount rate and why does it matter?
      • The discount rate: some defects in the Ministry’s Consultation Paper
  • LEGAL AID
    • Rights and the Legal Aid calamity – A brand new website
  • LEGAL HISTORY
    • The Assize Judges in a Garrison Town
    • Sitting Long Hours
    • The Gold Chain of the Lord Chief Justice
    • Mourning Bands and Weepers
    • The junior barrister’s gown
    • Mr Justice Darling: “an impudent little man in horsehair”
    • The last Canadian case in the Privy Council (1)
      • The last Canadian case in the Privy Council (2)
  • LEGAL MATTERS
    • Infographic: Understanding Lasting Powers of Attorney
    • All’s well that ends well – three years late
    • The miserable state of criminal justice
    • The appointment of the new Lord Chief Justice
      • Lord Burnett’s speech to the Criminal Cases Review Commission
    • Failures in prosecution disclosure
  • LIFE AND DEATH
    • Four reflections on the Charlie Gard case
    • My Talk about the Conjoined Twins case
    • The Conjoined Twins Case
  • MEDIATION
    • Learning to be a mediator: what I wrote in 2007
      • Mediation and Inheritance Disputes
      • The Tutu Foundation UK
      • The cost of the NHSLA’s refusals to mediate
      • The role of Mediation in Planning and Environmental Disputes
  • MEMORIES
    • My Welsh Grandfather
    • National Service 60 years ago: (1) Egypt and Libya
      • National Service 60 years ago: (2) Cyprus
    • Lord Denning and I: (1) The Cumberland Lodge weekends
      • Lord Denning and I (2): 1962-1972
      • Lord Denning and I: (3) The Final Years
    • Law and Practice in the 1960s
      • Law and Practice in the 1960s: (1) Chambers at 2 Crown Office Row
      • Law and practice in the 1960s: (2) Public law
      • Law and practice in the 1960s: (3) Family Law (1964-1977)
      • Law and Practice in the 1960s: (4) Crime (including driving offences)
    • Sir Nicholas Wall
    • Another memory of Lord Denning in his old age
  • MISCELLANEA
    • Judges and vicarious trauma
    • A need for greater empathy (2)
  • MUSINGS
    • Some musings about my blogs – 18 months on
    • Brexit musings: (1) The cost of withdrawal
    • A need for greater empathy
  • NON-LEGAL MATTERS
    • Our Golden Wedding
    • The Tryweryn Affair – or how Liverpool “stole” Welsh water
      • Cecil Parkinson and Dove Cottage
      • Peter Rawlinson’s memoirs (2): Mr Macmillan, my father and Stephen Ward
      • Shakespeare in Middle Temple Hall
        • 1. Shakespeare and the law
        • 2. Shakespeare and justice
        • 3. Shakespeare and civil rights
        • 4. Shakespeare and legal language
  • PIPs
    • Stories of Injustice (9): LASPO and the cuts
    • De Profundis: A tale of misery from the front line
    • Personal Independence Payments (PIPs): Help from Law for Life & Citizens Advice
    • More about PIPs: The pipinfo website
    • PIPs and ESAs: Another Disgraceful Story
    • Mandatory reconsiderations and the rule of law
      • Mandatory reconsiderations: (2) Muddled language
      • 19 Comments on my blogs on Mandatory Reconsiderations
    • PIPs again: An existence, not a life at the age of 49
    • PIPs: A blind woman’s experience
    • PIPs: Injustice averted – a real success story
    • Poor decision-making, Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) and PIP appeals
    • PIPs: My evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee
  • CONTACT

Month: April 2017

Judgments: the best opening lines – and a few more

On April 29, 2017July 19, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn JUDGMENTS6 Comments

One of the delights of social media is that from time to time there is a sudden rush of superb contributions on a single topic, and then people move on with equal precipitousness to something else. Continue reading “Judgments: the best opening lines – and a few more” →

Judges and vicarious trauma

On April 28, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn LEGAL MATTERS3 Comments

In my last blog I quoted this passage from Peter Glover’s article describing the current low state of judicial morale in this country Continue reading “Judges and vicarious trauma” →

The low state of judicial morale

On April 26, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn LEGAL MATTERS3 Comments

A few days ago I retweeted an article written for The Law Society Gazette by Peter Glover, who was a very experienced district judge until his retirement from the Bench last year. Continue reading “The low state of judicial morale” →

Toynbee Hall & immigration advice

On April 26, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn LEGAL AID1 Comment

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The Toynbee Hall Free Legal Advice Centre has been giving advice to East Londoners for more than 100 years. Continue reading “Toynbee Hall & immigration advice” →

Her Honour Judge Anuja Ravindra Dhir

On April 8, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn DIVERSITYLeave a comment

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Today there is an article in the Guardian about the new judge at the Central Criminal Court. Continue reading “Her Honour Judge Anuja Ravindra Dhir” →

The travel ban litigation: Peculiar happenings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

On April 4, 2017April 4, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn HUMAN RIGHTS4 Comments

There is a very surprising feature of the travel ban litigation on the west coast of the United States that seems to have escaped the attention of the mainstream British media. Continue reading “The travel ban litigation: Peculiar happenings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals” →

The discount rate: some defects in the Ministry’s Consultation Paper

On April 3, 2017April 5, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn LAW REFORM7 Comments

Four weeks ago I explained the origins of the Lord Chancellor’s powers to fix the discount rate Continue reading “The discount rate: some defects in the Ministry’s Consultation Paper” →

Some musings about my blogs – 18 months on

On April 2, 2017 By Henry BrookeIn MUSINGS1 Comment

Over the last few days I have received out of the blue via my Contact Page two unsolicited tributes to what I have been trying to achieve through my blogs over the last 18 months. Continue reading “Some musings about my blogs – 18 months on” →

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  • Age Verification: Protecting Children on TV and the Internet
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  • PIPs: My evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee
  • The case of Liam Allan: failings in prosecution disclosure
  • My Monday message to the Criminal Bar Association

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Henry Brooke on The Treasury Devil
Richard Cumming-Bruc… on The Treasury Devil
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