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28 January 2022 / Alec Samuels
Issue: 7964 / Categories: Features , Profession , In Court
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Book review: Second Helpings

"Lord Brown has clear views on the law and the legal institutions"

Author: Simon Brown

Publisher: Marble Hill Publishers Ltd

ISBN: 9781838303617

RRP: £18


Simon Brown is one of those exceptionally gifted people who confidently, positively and relaxedly get on with life and make a success of it: Bar, Treasury Counsel, Judge, Lord Justice, Justice of the Supreme Court. His text is simple, lucid, readable, but full of subtlety; and rich in anecdotes and self-deprecating stories—this is a second volume of memoirs, following the success of the first, Playing off the Roof & Other Stories. Many colleagues are mentioned, familiar names in the law, but always gently and with discretion.

Lord Brown has clear views on the law and the legal institutions. Naturally advocacy, best learned by watching and listening, is discussed. The greatly diminished role of the Lord Chancellor is much regretted. The Supreme Court should be reduced to nine members, sitting en banc (presumably with a reduced docket), carrying more authority. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council should be abolished. The role of the dissenting judgment may need consideration,

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A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
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Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
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