Fee Earning.

Well, I’ve got my own place now and I officially started fee-earning. Sort of. We were trying to decide how many units a Particulars of Claim would be (they’ve never done them in-house, you see, and the Boss is on holiday).

Do they not teach them this type of drafting on the LPC, or something? For a PI practice, it seems to be pretty essential.

P.s. The only thing I don’t like is the absence of ‘instructions to student counsel’, where everything is laid out neat. ;D Instead, I’m having to rummage through pages and pages of paperwork in the file, trying to make sense of it.

Legal Job – Day 2.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn this into my day-to-day diary. Just for the first couple of days, maybe.

Anyway, when I nipped home for lunch today (one of many advantages of working near home), I was literary close to tears. I had one of those, ‘I can’t do this!’ moments. I think once I’ve settled down, I’ll feel better. But today I just felt really helpless and… bored. I was asked to draft some more Particulars, and the facts of the cases were so similar, I started panicking, thinking: ‘God, I hope I’m not going to be doing this for the rest of my life!’

But then I returned to work after lunch and it was a bit better. I already remember everyone’s names, and I even answered the phone once (they asked me to answer it more, but whenever it rings, someone else always answers it before I get a chance… oh well). They got me doing some letters and audio-typing (to get to know their case management system… I hope; I certainly never thought I’d be doing audio-typing again!).

Oh, and because I still don’t have a desk or a computer, and since the Boss is on holiday, I was put in his office for now. So I sat there, in his spacious office, swivelling in his big leather chair with my feet up on the desk, thinking, ‘I could get used to this!’ ;D (I didn’t really; I’ve only just got this job and I don’t want to lose it!)

So now I’m frantically trying to find a book that our PI tutor recommended for those who got a PI pupillage (I’m actually going through my BVC notes... ah, the memories!) Whilst I didn’t get a pupillage, I think that having a good practical book would help me greatly…

For instance, shortly before the home time, I was asked to urgently draft a claim form to issue ‘protective proceedings’. I was like, ‘Wha…’ I went back to that person and asked what I needed to do in the end, which turned out to be quite simple really. I wish I didn’t have to ask!

But yeh… that book… I have a feeling in might be ‘Personal Injury Practice’ by Buchan, Kennedy and Woolf, but I just need to make sure it is, before spending 70 quid on it…

Update: Found it. Good job I made notes in bound notebooks. ;D It’s ‘Personal Injury Law’ by Peter Barrie (£85). Now… I’m a bit lost, because the first book looks pretty good too, judging by the description. Plus it’s newer… Decisions, decisions!

Update 2: I’ve ordered Peter Barrie’s book. It better be good, or else!

Gawd… How keen am I?!

How people see PI.

When I announced my departure from the Funeral Services, I was surprised (and somewhat offended) at people’s perceptions of the Personal Injury area of practice.

One former colleague noted that the personal injury lawyers ranked below estate agents..?! (this came from an accountant, and everyone knows that they are too boring to have an opinion… ha! just kidding) Then there were numerous PI jokes, including ‘where there’s a blame there’s a claim’ (followed by a hysterical laugh), and recitals of phrases from the ‘no win, no fee’ adverts (‘if you had an accident and it wasn’t your fault…’).

It’s a shame that people have such a low view of PI. It’s actually a very interesting and intellectually stimulating area of practice. To remember more reasons why I applied for PI pupillages in the past:

• great variety of facts
• good balance of written and oral advocacy
• um… there are other great reasons, but I can’t think of any at the moment ;D

So anyway, while there are accident claims, someone has to deal with them. If I slipped on that stupid ungritted ice rink of a car park at my previous work and injured myself, I’d be making a claim. Who wouldn’t? I think it was jealousy, more than anything else.

Whiplash!

Since I recently joined the ranks of the ‘ambulance chasers’ (in the eyes of my former colleagues at least… which is a very ignorant view, actually), I decided that it was time to show more interest in Personal Injury.

Today I decided to do some research on the whiplash accident claims. The proper medical term is actually ‘hyperextension soft tissue injury of the cervical spine’ (or something… I think I prefer ‘whiplash’).

It seems to be that in every rear-end shunt accident, the victim will always ‘suffer’ from whiplash. Simply because historically whiplash can’t be proven or disproven; there’s no immediate evidence of an injury and rarely anything will show up on an X-ray. While there are genuine claims, everyone will agree that some whiplash claims are fraudulent.

In extreme cases, groups of people have been caught staging car crashes and then making fraudulent compensation claims. Someone I know was actually involved in one of those staged accidents on a roundabout, which is a scary thought.

Various studies have been done on the symptoms to reduce fraudulent claims. For instance, they have now established a sequence of symptoms, and found that exaggeration of symptoms is the main ‘giveaway’, because genuine victims tend to underplay the extend of their injuries in fear of being accused of lying! Some insurance companies interrogate the claimants to establish their credibility, which is resulting in some delay for the genuine claimants. What else can you do?

People can prevent or limit neck injuries by adjusting their head-rests, but who actually does that? I wonder if this fact could constitute contributory negligence…

First day at my new job (and last day at the old one).

I’ll start with the new job, because I’m so excited. My first day went really well, even though I got home with the most terrible headache ever. I had a little rest and now I feel alright again. It must’ve been all that thinking I’ve done today!

As soon as I walked in, I was asked to prepare an application for disclosure and inspection under CPR, rule 31.12 (it still feels weird to write in legalese again!) and draft an order. Then, I was handed a file and asked to prepare Particulars of Claim. Just like that. I had to go home at lunch to fetch my BVC manuals and notes (it’s a good job I live close by).

I was worried that I’d forgotten everything from the BVC, but I was wrong. As soon as I opened the file and instinctively started writing out the good and bad facts, it all started coming back to me. What a great feeling that was (and what a relief!). ;D I managed to finish the Particulars, an they actually turned out alright. Amazing.

If all goes well, next week I’ll be preparing an application for a Summary Judgement… So I better do some revision during the weekend!

Everyone seems really nice, and it’s great to be taken seriously for once. All those pupillage rejections really started to get to me lately. I’m very thankful and absolutely ecstatic that I got this job!!!!!!!!

Now about my old job. The last day was great. I received loads of ‘good luck’ cards and little pressies (even flowers!), which made my day. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I was really touched by all the attention and kind words and wishes from my colleagues. We then went out for a meal after work. It was lovely… Really… I had such a blast. I laughed so hard, my stomach was hurting. :))) On my way home, I kept thinking how I’ll probably never be able to find the same people. But then, I remember my first days at that job – I could never imagine becoming friends with anyone there! And look at me now… I’ll definitely keep in touch with them. :)

Some Search Keywords.

No comment…

‘crap legal aid barristers’

‘cheat your way to becoming a barrister’

‘will working for the national accident helpline help my career in law’

‘olpas sucks’

‘awkward pupillage interview questions’

‘barrister non practising business card’

‘hypnotize me into revising for my exams’

Last few days at…

We had an *urgent* email at work today about the dangers of social networking, due to the ‘recent events’. I emailed back, asking what those events were, but never got a reply. Oh well. I suspect it was something to do with defamation of my soon-to-be-former employer. Don’t worry, I’m not about to reveal their name, because I’ve heard how aggressive they are when it comes to their internet image.

I don’t think I ever said anything bad about them either. There were times when I didn’t enjoy my job at all, but only because I was just in the wrong industry. In these past few days, however, the work has become absolutely unbearable. It doesn’t help that people in my team are acting all weird now. Maybe they’re jealous that I’m leaving, I don’t know.

All my duties have been re-assigned to other people, so I just sit there and make sarcastic comments about everything. What’s the point of me being there exactly? Yeah… Can’t wait until Thursday! 17 people are coming to my leaving party (on Thursday night). I never knew I was that popular! I wonder what they got me for my leaving gift.

Anyway… I phoned up the SRA to ask when the new regulations may be coming into force, and they said that a date hasn’t been set yet. Phew.

So I completed my QLTR form for the Certificate of Eligibility, got my Certificate of Good Standing from the Bar Council (as well as a reference from my manager), but… I just realised that there’s a declaration at the end of the form, which must be witnessed by a solicitor. I guess I’ll just have to ask my new employer to sign it. I’m starting my new job this coming Friday, did I mention this?.. ;D