Bare garden

OldFatherTimeThis morning I visited the so-called ‘bear garden’ in the high courts for the first time with a case of my own.  Whenever I’ve seen the place before it’s like a vision of hell with lawyers piled high all arguing aloud like some kind of terrible legal trading floor.  Today though, it was completely and utterly silent.  Not a lawyer in sight.  Not even an opponent.  Now admittedly all I was doing was handing in agreed directions, (hard days work if ever there was one) and so I guess not having an opponent was not actually a complete surprise.  But what has happened to the bear garden?  Is litigation coming to an end?  All cases settling?  For the sake of the profession, that would be a most terrible thing.

But just when I was even starting to wonder if I’d somehow got the wrong day or something, who should pass through but OldFatherTime himself.  The old ex-law lord who still strolls around the Temple and also it now seems the high court.  We have now met on quite a few occasions and this time he recognised me. “Ah, hello, young man.  It’s rather quiet around here don’t you think?â€
“I was wondering about that myself.  Do you think perhaps people have decided to stop litigating or something?â€
“Don’t worry about that young man.  So long as people remain greedy, vain and proud they will continue to waste their hard-earned money in fights so complicated and expensive that only the ingenious imagination of a lawyer could ever have invented.â€

Then he looked at me with a smile before adding: “But remember young man, for every thousand meaningless cases that you churn out just for the money, there’ll be one in which you might actually make a difference.â€

I’m not sure quite how to take those kind of statistics but as he went on his way, he turned around and added: “Believe me, when you get that case you’ll know.  Oh, please do pass on my very best to OldRuin.â€

October 5, 2016 · Tim Kevan · One Comment
Posted in: Uncategorized

One Response

  1. John Bolch - February 8, 2008

    Well, thanks very much BabyB. Reminding me of my experiences in the Bear Garden in the dim and distant past has quite spoiled my Friday afternoon!