Open to new ideas A Norton Rose Fulbright magazine Issue 9 RE: WORK THE GREEKS TAKE CENTRE STAGE THE PHOTO ESSAY: COLOUR AND LIGHT re: LIFE CONTENTS WORK FEATURES 04 Contributors GREEK CHORUS A lament 05 The Editor 06 Letters to the Editor Obiter dictum 15 THE HEART OF THE LEAD 07 Richard Calnan on jurisprudence The photo essay 09 The Q&A George W Scofield 25 Cover 1935–8, Te Deum rose window commemorating HRH Albert, King of the Belgians, Cathedral of St Martin, Ypres (©KIK-IRPA, Brussels) Artist – Wilhelmina Geddes LIFE 34 33 To do 52 One hundred words 34 Perspectives 54 One fine day Cambodia Nick Clayson 38 The guide 56 The poem On two wheels 38 58 The person 44 The kitchen table Jane Caskey 46 The sporting life 62 Back streets Casablanca 47 Style 47 64 Coda 52 re: Work CONTRIBUTORS Ingeborg Alexander The Q&A The person Paul Beattie Miriam Davies Elizabeth Bina Shah Ursula Elis Style The guide McCaul Style The heart of the The sporting life lead Clare Ellis Greek chorus Fiona Zhang The poem Patrick Bracher Claire Hamon Ayesha Mian Laura Shumiloff Obiter dictum` Style Style The sporting life Tracey Dawn Hayes Vicky Münzer Martin Scott Bodnarchuk Style Jones Perspectives Style One hundred words Richard Calnan Alexandra Howe Julie Paquette Jarret Stephens On jurisprudence One hundred The sporting life Style words William Chen Hannah Kemp Claire Poole Michael Jürgen The poem Style One hundred Werner words The kitchen table Nick Clayson Ivan Maslarov Kostas One fine day Back streets Retzopoulos Coda The kitchen table Style 04 :The Editor his is the ninth issue of Re:, a magazine for everyone in Norton TRose Fulbright around the world and for our friends, among them our clients and alumni. We live in a tough old world – witness the lament of our Greek chorus – which is made more bearable by things of beauty. In this issue, we present to you our fabulous Style guide to shoes, a note on the restaurants and cafés of Brussels serving exquisite hot chocolate, and a photo essay revealing the strength in beauty of Wilhelmina Geddes’s stained glass. George Scofield shares a few words of wisdom from San Antonio and Jane Caskey speaks up for the wonderful life to be lived in London, Ontario. And Re: has won an award (given by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK). I would like to acknowledge the important role played in that by our contributors: this magazine shows you at your best. Thank you for coming up with articles, ideas, criticism. The tenth issue will appear later in 2016. See you then. The Editor 05 re: Work OBITER DICTUM LETTERS TO Latin, deconstructed, in case of need THE EDITOR I like this magazine. I like the I recently visited a shopping ius way it picks up on all kinds of mall in Amarillo, and there in things and manages to surprise the middle of the vast modern A right or a legal system. Better not spelt using a us with what it finds out. So crowd was a weathered cowboy, ‘j’ to avoid confusion with ‘juice’. let’s congratulate the team complete with wide-brimmed behind Re: for getting some Stetson, fresh dust, and jangling ius civile good peer recognition. Well spurs. It was surreal. I would be The civil law. In Roman times this was the law of done on winning an award happy to offer up something on Rome as opposed to the jus gentium, which were for best practice in internal the life of the cowboy. laws of universal application. communications from the Cecil C Kuhne, Dallas Chartered Institute of Public The sporting life: issue 8. Cecil C J Relations in the UK. Keep up the Kuhne III is a published writer on good work! cowboy law. Ed. The letter ‘j’ is a latecomer to the alphabet and Ken Stewart, Houston was not used in Roman Latin where an ‘i’ was I am receiving massive feedback invariably used (and still is by the purists). Re: offers exceptional quality on the article and on the magazine and brilliant content and comes as a whole. People like it for being across as intelligent but not intelligent (in a Russian sense of jacta alea est exclusive, with an impressive word), delicate, and very broad in The die is cast. Attributed to Julius Caesar when mix of prose, poetry and visual coverage of different facets of life. he crossed the Rubicon to challenge the Roman imagery that is well suited to its I’ve sent copies to clients and they authorities and started the civil war. global audience. are very impressed. Judges’ feedback, CIPR Inside Natalia Chudakova, Moscow justa causa Story 2016 awards (UK) The art essay: Avant Garde, issue How lawyerlike the lawyer is not 8. Ed. A just cause or lawful ground. Used in Roman to understand a place without law instead of the need for a consideration as the clear rules. basis for an agreement. The thing I missed was Contact the Editor justus error Ethiopia’s beautiful athletes. re.magazine@ Watch, for instance, the nortonrosefulbright.com A reasonable or excusable error. Sometimes last couple of laps of Hiwot The Editor excusing liability. Ayalew winning the 3000m Re: steeplechase in New York. Or Norton Rose Fulbright K any marathon. 3 More London Riverside Although there was a ‘k’ in Latin, the ‘c’ was I sent the New York pages to my London SE1 2AQ, UK preferred and ‘k’ is hardly ever used. stepson who is leaving for NY on Looking ahead Saturday and he is very happy. Let me know your ideas for future Patrick Bracher, Johannesburg issues. We are planning a feature laesa majestas Ethiopia: a portrait in words; The article on depression. If you feel Injured majesty. The crime of laesae majestatis guide to New York, issue 8. Ed. you have something to contribute is the crime of high treason. For readers interested in to that, please get in touch. Ed. Ethiopia, I recommend The Book club legem brevem esse oportet Emperor: downfall of an autocrat Recommendations of books for A law should be brief. A rare achievement. by Ryszard Kapuscinski. young children being accepted Kenneth Gray, London now. Ethiopia: a portrait in words, legum baccalaureus and legum majister Instagram issue 8. Ed. Some of the photographs LLB and LLM. Well-known law degrees. published in Re: are also posted on Norton Rose Fulbright’s Patrick Bracher is a senior lawyer with Norton Instagram account. Rose Fulbright in Johannesburg. 06 :Richard Calnan RICHARD CALNAN ON JURISPRUDENCE he character of our judges is as important to the operation of our legal system Tas the quality of our laws. What makes a good judge? There was a story going around at by the public”. The best judges cut the end of the nineteenth century. through the complexity and propound a Counsel stood up in the Court of Appeal straightforward test which can easily be and started his opening speech: applied to the facts of the case. “My Lords, this is an appeal from a A good example is a recent decision judgment of Mr Justice Kekewich … of the Court of Appeal in which it had but that is not the only ground of the to decide whether a party to a contract appeal.” had repudiated it. There was a lot of The story is doubtless apocryphal, case law on the issue, not all of it easy but it does illustrate one objective to reconcile. The court cut through all criterion by which judges can be that, said that it was unhelpful to try assessed: how frequently they are to derive detailed propositions from overruled. But, in some ways, it is the cases decided on their own particular very objectivity of the process which facts, and then set out a clear and makes us question its usefulness. We straightforward test of repudiation can all think of cases where we thought which they applied to the facts of the the judge in a lower court had got it case. right, but he or she was overruled on The second quality is to be able appeal. to sift the facts of the case and see There was, for instance, the recent what is important. No one has done case in which the court had to decide this better than Lord Denning. He what was meant by the words “any managed to encapsulate the facts claim (whether sounding in rescission of the case in a brief span and in an for undue influence or otherwise)”. engaging manner. Every law student The Court of Appeal decided that they remembers the opening words of one meant what they said – “any claim”. of his cases: “Broadchalke is one of The House of Lords disagreed; what the most pleasing villages in England. they meant was, “any claim sounding Old Herbert Bundy, the defendant, was in rescission”. One could be forgiven a farmer there ….”. Judgments of that for preferring the approach of the Court clarity and brevity are now rare. of Appeal. The third quality is the most It is probably inevitable that our difficult. Judgement. Perhaps the most opinions about the quality of judges important attribute of any lawyer is will be subjective, based on our the instinct for the right answer. The own views and experiences. But is it ability to discern the right path through possible to identify qualities which a complex set of facts and laws. It is would have a broad measure of impossible to define more closely support? I would suggest three.