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Robert Rinder (of Judge Rinder fame) credits Malcolm Bishop QC as his mentor at the Bar.
Malcolm has spent the last five years defending what we believe is the longest case in the history of the Commonwealth. It involves the prosecution for corruption and money laundering of the former premier and some cabinet members of the Turk and Caicos Islands government. He has recently returned to the UK and joined 3 Hare Court.
Robert Rinder caught up with his mentor.
So, Malcolm, they say that barristers never retire, they just hang up their briefs. And here you are, at what some might consider retirement age, joining your new chambers at 3 Hare Court. What keeps you interested at the Bar?
My clerk once said to me, ‘you’ll never retire, the Bar will retire you,’ which I suppose was a warning. I’ve got a few years left in me, and the advantage of doing this job for a long time is that you’ve seen most situations before, so you can remember mistakes and avoid them. With age and experience, you also learn to calm yourself down and, much more importantly, to calm your clients down.
What has been your biggest career challenge so far?
My first appearance in the House of Lords was as a leader in R v Burstow. The defendant had made a silent telephone call in the middle of the night and was charged with assault. The question was whether that could amount to an assault in law, and the Lords held that it could. Turning up there for my first time as a leader was quite a formidable experience.
Which person in the legal profession inspires you the most?
I’ve had two mentors in my life. First, Sir Godfray Le Quesne QC, the chairman of my Oxford College. When I’d decided to move from Theology to Law, he persuaded me to go to the Bar, found me a fantastic pupil master and then kept an eye on my career. The other was Derry Irvine, who led me many times before he became Lord Chancellor. He taught me the importance of really, really hard work. He was a little like what you’ve said about me—stern, and he expected a full commitment.
What do you think about young people coming to the Bar now, often in huge amounts of debt?
My heart breaks for young people at the Bar. They are dedicated, hardworking, desperately keen to carry on, yet many of them—especially those doing publicly funded work—would make a better living window cleaning. The way in which the Young Bar is treated is, in my view, absolutely disgraceful.
And how about the current state of legal aid?
Unless those without means have access to justice, then justice is about as free as dining at the Ritz.
How do you like to relax? Whenever Queen Elizabeth I was under pressure, she would—apparently—dive into Greek translations. The only other person I’ve heard of who does that to calm themselves is you. You’re on your third published translation of the gospels aren’t you?
My fourth actually! I did Greek, initially at my perfectly ordinary welsh grammar school, and then for two more years at Oxford. Recently, I decided to revise my knowledge of this ancient language, and translated from the New Testament (John’s Gospel, Mark, Matthew and Revelation). They’re selling amazingly well, with all profits going to charity. That’s my Sunday morning relaxation. Most people wouldn’t regard it as very relaxing, probably.
So, in addition to being a recorder and an eminent QC, you were also a deputy High Court judge. What do you think (I ask with very keen interest) are the critical qualities of a good judge?
There used to be no such thing as specialisation. One day you were doing a family case in the county court, the next you were in the employment tribunal, and then you were doing a small chancery matter. I have always practised throughout the spectrum of the law because the legal principles are very similar; they haven’t changed substantially from the days of Justinian. Provided you have a specialist junior, you can do anything. As a deputy High Court judge and as a recorder I was told, to my embarrassment, that everybody thought that I was a soft touch.
What?!
Yes, and my sentencing was lower than the norm. I took the view that there is no point in sending somebody to prison for less than a year for a non-violent offence. Let me give an example. An old lady had her life savings scammed by a builder. The defendant claimed the usual, that he was good to his mother, had a new job starting on Monday and he was truly sorry. I adjourned the case for six months, and said if he repaid the money his sentence would take that into account. He did repay it, and so he got a suspended sentence, and everybody was happy. I thought that was the more constructive way of dealing with the situation than sending somebody down which would do no good at all.
Judges had greater leeway then, perhaps, than today. What changes would you make to the current legal profession?
I would restore the office of the Lord Chancellor. The present system demeans the legal profession and therefore the administration of justice. It is quite absurd to have second class lawyers who are given honorary silks, when one compares the last few holders of that very high office with the likes of Lord Gardiner, Lord Hailsham, Lord Mackay and Lord Irvine. Well, the case makes itself.
What excites you the most about your new chambers?
3 Hare Court is one of the best sets in the Temple, with an amazingly wide area of practice. International arbitration, commercial disputes of a very high order, and a very strong connection with the Caribbean, started by Sir Godfray Le Quesne’s father in the 1940s. Having spent the last five years in the Turks and Caicos Islands on the corruption trial involving the former government, I am greatly looking forward to coming home and using my advocacy experience across a wide spectrum of the law, from pro bono appeals in the privy council on behalf of death row defendants in Jamaica, to international arbitration in Hong Kong and commercial disputes involving city bankers and Russian oligarchs!
