The post-legal society

Reinventing the Constitution ... New war crime propped up by discredited 1818 case ... Pentagon stacks military commission review court ... Rogue circuit court circumvents habeas for Guantanameros ... CIA homicides investigated by grand jury ... Our Man in Washington reports 

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Bulletin from Abbottobad

Navy SEALs insensitive about court protocol ... Disney moves quickly ... Debate still raging about Osama and the rule of law ... "High Value Detainees ... Unprivileged Belligerents ... Enemy Combatants" and other odd creatures from the make-it-up-as-you-go-along Law of War ... Roger Fitch from the front line in Washington

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Scandalising the profession

Clutz's billing methods birched in Queensland ... Maria Bechara's magic transformation of an hour into three billable hours ...  WA solicitor trumps legal aid with litigation funding for impoverished client ... Victoria prepares to say "Bye, Bye Brottie" ... Busy time for Bureaux de Spank across the nation

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When Soapy came to town

From Justinian's archive ... It's August 12, 2010, nine days before the federal election ... Soapy Brandis is being hosted at Beppis by a bevvy of Sydney silks ... Law 'n' Justice policies thin on the ground ... Strange issues emerge in the campaign for Wentworth ... Here we go again ... Insight into the barrenness of the upcoming 2013 poll 

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Pass the parmesan

Soapy George Brandis comes to town … Tickling the Sydney Bar ‘n’ Grill for campaign money … Others might want to actually press policy ideas at closed circle Beppi’s din-dins 

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Lord Eldon's family tree

The tree of man … Ancient fight over fig tree on Eldons’ estate not over yet … Further appeals to get unimproved land value of Ascot spread reduced to almost zero … Stellar court room showing by Eldon patriarch … Sir Terence O’Rort reports

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Saving newsprint by omitting drivel

Election advice – ignore the War Party ... Abe Saffron – libel terrorist ... Rugby notes ... Conniptions at Uni of Syd over Challis chair and law school merger ... Evan Whitton at large ... From Justinian's archive, July 16, 2010 

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Whitelocke on Lawmanship

Beguiling pastiche of barristerial posturing ... The importance of looking the part ... The Velvet Salamander transforms into the Silver Canetoad ... James Hutton reviews Bullstrode Whitelocke’s essential text for advocates ... From Justinian's archive, July 13, 2010 

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Raw prawns and tabloid beat-ups

Effectiveness of incarceration … The Crime and Justice Reform Committee has been setting out the facts on rates of imprisonment … An interesting study in contrasts … Fairfax and Murdoch reptiles absorb different messages over Danny Gilbert’s delicious treats

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Let me count the ways

Turning back to the dark side on asylum seekers … Ramping up the rhetoric … Gillard unwilling to articulate a just policy … “Turn back the boats” is the chant that echos down the generations … Stephen Keim and Eve Lester comment

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The pretenders

The condition of bar readers eight years ago ... Fresh crop of penguins … Early training to defend the untenable … Drinkers, gossipers, opiners, whippersnappers and obsessives released into the community … From the archive, June 2010 ... Our blogger Fledgling reports 

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A jihad on adversarialism

Portia attended the big chinwag in Melbourne on mediation andnon-adversarial justice … She was singularly unimpressed … It put her inmind of a Billy Graham evangelical meeting … What’s happened to the old lovefor the godless adversarial joust?

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Magic allure of the Magic Circle

Leverhulme talks to Michael White, a lad from Brisbane who chanced his armin London … Amid the fantastic challenges of his job he faced a crisis ofhis own … Despite the rewards, Queensland beckons

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Murdoch's matey world

Guthrie v News Ltd. William Collins, Justinian’s veteran observer ofMelbourne’s curial world, thinks Bruce Guthrie’s win against Harto andBlunders is on the margins of being a Pyrrhic one

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Hungry to sell

Cross examination … Marvel at how Peter Blunden handles tight cornersin Guthriev News Ltd ... Norman O’Bryan on a roll … Tabloid temperaments flare … Tom Westbrook wades through the transcript

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HK bar strives to protect its turf

Later aristo sons went to the bar … Now Hong Kong authorities crack down on poorer grade graduates wanting to be barristers … Right of audience for solicitors expanded … English structure on its last legs … Percy summons ghosts of halcyon days

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Bankers: the smaller the deal, the bigger the fee

The Opposition is complaining about too much spending … However, it’s not so bad if the government over-spends on Liberal Party pals … Never has a satisfactory answer been given as to why Credit Suisse’s OzCar fee got bigger as the scheme got smaller … Another infamous email from party mole Godwin Grech … Samantha Bowers investigates

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Would the real CSR please stand-up?

CSR’s brush with Corporate Social Responsibility … Submissions about “commercial morality” frequently are a recipe for disaster … Professor Michael Adams* examines how and why CSR Ltd differs from James Hardie

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It's better to self-prune than to blow away

Life at Big Law in Japan has parallels with the chimera of the cherry blossoms … All very delicate … Awkward questions take hold in the middle of the night … You’ve arrived on Sugar Mountain, so why the thoughts of kamikaze?

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Capital Offences

Outpouring of ennui at the return of Turnbull – freshly repackaged man of principle … Why do allegedly “moderate” Liberals sound so extreme? – The case of George (Soapie) Brandis … Quintet tunes-up … Attorney General’s big ticket budget items

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