BabyBarista

Book recommendation: 'The Lincoln Lawyer' by Michael Connelly

2012-02-15T07:00:00.000Z

It's always good to welcome a Michael Connelly novel, and The Lincoln Lawyer is a strong addition to the Connelly bookshelf. This stand-alone legal thriller has all the adroit plotting and no-nonsense prose that are Connelly's trademarks, with a particularly strong protagonist.

In the hierarchy of American lawyers, ‘Lincoln lawyers’ are not held in the highest esteem. These are criminal defence attorneys who run their practices from a travelling Lincoln car, traversing the county of Los Angeles to hoover up whatever work is available, however basic. Connelly's tarnished hero is Mickey Heller, who has fine-tuned this less-than-impressive side of the legal profession to such a degree that few can match him: he knows all the ins and outs of the system, including precisely who to slip a back-hander to when appropriate. But Mickey finds a way to move upmarket when he acquires a well-heeled client. A rich young man from Beverly Hills has been arrested for savagely assaulting a woman, and the case falls in Mickey's lap. And though the lawyer is used to defending clients who are guilty as sin, it actually looks (for once) that his client is innocent. But Lincoln lawyers like Mickey are fully aware of the lottery that is their profession, and he isn't too surprised when the case goes pear-shaped. But (to his dismay) Mickey slowly learns that neither his client nor the victim in the case is quite what they seem to be, and soon there's a lot more than a penny-ante case at stake, with Mickey's life quite as much at risk as any reputation he might have.

Connelly fans (an ever-growing army) will be pleased to hear that all the customary traits are fully on offer here, with one key component even more finely honed than usual: the gritty, idiomatic dialogue, which is richer and more entertaining than usual.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Uncommon Law' by AP Herbert

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000Z

First published as an omnibus of AP Herbert's Misleading Cases, Uncommon Law is a quite brilliant collection of his satirical law reports or judgments on various aspects of the British legal and judicial system. These reports, although entirely fictional, were on several occasions mistakenly reported as factual by the British press. The reports often had a sharp political point beneath their satire, and tied into Herbert's personal crusades against obsolescent legislation. As Lord Falconer of Thoroton points out in his foreword, 'There is hardly a work in English literature which captures more accurately and entertainingly the attitudes and approach of the English courts with their vanity, their humour and their strength.'

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Facts and Figures 2011/12'

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000Z

Now in its 16th edition, this collection of tables enables you to effortlessly calculate special damages and claims for loss of earnings in personal injury cases. Facts & Figures 2011/12:

Brings together all the information in one volume, to assist you in assessing special damages information quickly, easily and efficiently

Provides access to the latest, up-to-date material and includes the 6th edition of the Ogden tables

Ensures accuracy in the calculation of special damages and claims for loss of earnings

Provides you with up-to-date financial and statistical information

Helps with the production of schedules and counter-schedules

Widely used across the profession and frequently cited in court

Includes: Life, multiplier and discount tables, Earnings tables, Various interest tables, Price tables, Investment tables, Tax and insurance tables, Benefits, allowances and charges, Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Multipliers Table, Decimal Years Table

Provides clearer, easier to use Carer Rates tables, Nanny cost-to-client rates to be re-calculated in accordance with formula used for carer rates and a simplification of Tables C-1 Earnings Losses

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'A Certain Justice' by P D James

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000Z

Although A Certain Justice begins with news of a murder, the victim isn't set to die for another four weeks. Publicly respected but privately loathed, Venetia Aldridge has far more enemies than a brilliant London criminal lawyer should--and at least one of them is determined to do her in. Venetia plies her superior trade in courts that harbour "the illusion that the passions of men were susceptible to order and control," but her past and private life are exceedingly unruly. Her married lover is intent on giving her up; her daughter loathes her; her fellow barristers are determined that she not become the next head of chambers. Even the cleaning woman seems to have something on her. The outline alone of this complex novel would take pages (as would the eclectic inventory of players), but P. D. James makes us admire far more than her brilliantly developed plot. James in fact creates a crowded gallery of surprisingly decent suspects, along with one suitably vile creature--who happens to be Aldridge's last client. A superior murder mystery, A Certain Justice is also a gripping anatomy of wild justice. James's characters can be overcome by hate, but she is equally concerned with love's manifestations--human, divine, destructive, and healing.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Mulberry Finch review the BabyBarista series of books

2012-01-19T16:56:00.001Z

Very many thanks to Henry Oliver at Mulberry Finch for reviewing my book Law and Peace. You can read the review Mulberry Finch or below. You can buy the book on amazon.

"If you want to relax on Boxing Day by laughing at your lawyer (a great way to let all that pent-up anger out), then you can’t do better than reading Tim Kevan’s excellent Baby Barista books. For those who are as yet uninitiated, this is the latest addition the twentieth/twenty-first century genre of legal fiction. Rumpole is the most well known, having been made into a television series; and at the other, more serious end of the scale, is the set of novels about an Edwardian family headed by a City solicitor, The Forsyte Saga. (People interested in more details of legal fiction can find a good selection in this blog by Simon Myerson.) Writing and the bar go hand in hand: John Mortimer and John Galsworthy were both at the bar; one wrote because he hated it, the other because he couldn’t get any briefs. Tim Kevan has had an altogether more successful legal career. He practised for ten years, being described as having “an unsurpassed knowledge of the law.” But he now lives by the sea. His day job, as well as running a legal training business, is to write brief sketches for his blog (published by The Guardian). The best recent example is his wonderful skit on Collective Nouns for Lawyers. Whether he was disenchanted with law, or compelled to write doesn’t matter. He is seriously funny. Like all the best comic novels the real wit comes from the trumped-up but still accurate dialogue. The main character is our duplicitous narrator: he looks and sounds like an innocent, struggling but ambitious, young lawyer. We instinctively sympathise with the perils of the bar faced by young pupils, and want our hero to succeed whatever the cost. But we realise that the cost is high. He is not as green as he looks: devious schemes, and underhand tactics, cheating, and getting through scrapes provide all the fun and thrills in the plot. And it is all held together in the great non-villain of the lead character. Even his young, innocent name (Baby Barista), which is misspelled so as to try and emphasise a complete lack of malevolence in his character, is an act of deceit; it hides his ability to be devastatingly self-interested. But good for him we cheer! He is surrounded by greedy, grasping, horrid lawyers, all of them as cunning and mendacious as he is – but not as likeable. This is a well paced, crisply written, funny book that shows the gloomy side of the law without being cynical or ignoring the better bits. If you’ve ever sympathised with Shakespeare when he said, “First thing we do? Let’s kill all the lawyers!” then this pair of novels is the perfect stocking filler for you."

Book recommendation: 'Wind, Sand and Stars' by Antoine Saint-Exupery

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000Z

In 1926 de Saint-Exupéry began flying for the pioneering airline Latécoère - later known as Aéropostale - opening up the first mail routes across the Sahara and the Andes. WIND, SAND AND STARS is drawn from this experience. Interweaving encounters with nomadic Arabs and other adventures into a richly textured autobiographical narrative which includes the extraordinary story of his crash in the Libyan Desert in 1936, and his miraculous survival. 'Self-discovery comes when a man measures himself against an obstacle,' writes Saint-Exupéry. This book he explores the transcendent perceptions that arise when life is tested to its limits. Both a gripping tale of adventure and a poetic meditation.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Law and Peace reviewed at RollOnFriday

2012-01-12T16:50:00.000Z

Very many thanks to Laura at RollOnFriday for reviewing my book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book on amazon.

"Former barrister Tim Kevan's follow up to last year's Law and Disorder, provides the next instalment in the life of fictional junior barrister BabyB. Having schemed and plotted his way to tenancy, BabyB discovers that keeping his nose out of trouble now he is a fully-fledged member of chambers is easier said than done.

Still struggling with pressing financial problems (readers of Law and Disorder will remember that BabyB's poor old Ma risked bankruptcy to put him through law school), BabyB is put to work on a case involving pensioners with ASBOs. Before long he's back to his old tricks and when an unscrupulous solicitor, SlipperySlope, offers him a way out of his impecuniosity he (with few qualms) merrily jumps into a world of blackmail and insider trading.

There are dodgy dealings, financial misdoings, ridiculous courtroom capers and even a love story as BabyB realises he must win the heart of his best friend. The book is certainly a hectic scramble through some of the more implausible practices of the bar but that's the joy of it. It's a fun, frivolous, funny page-turner and you know it's all going to turn out fine in the end."

Book recommendation: 'The Fear Index' by Robert Harris

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000Z

"As in Frankenstein, an over-reaching scientist finds himself desperately battling to destroy what he's created. Depicting all this with sardonic relish, Harris switches the high-tension techniques that give his thrillers their heart-pounding suspense into black comic mode... The Fear Index is both cutting edge and keenly conscious of its literary predecessors... a tour-de-force."--The Sunday Times

"Like all Harris' books, this one is readily enjoyable as a suspense story... But what makes Harris' thrillers so much more rewarding than those of his rivals is that they all... come out of his deep and expert interest in politics, broadly conceived--which is to say, in power, in how power is taken, held and lost; how some people are able to dominate others; how wealth and status, fear and greed, work... The Fear Index... is ultimately a study in the total lack of morality of those who manipulate the markets . . . in its own carefully conceived terms, The Fear Index is certainly another winner."--Evening Standard

"Harris is a master of pace and entertainment, and The Fear Index is a thoroughly enjoyable book... Read the book. If I die tomorrow, blame the computer."--The Observer

"A fine dystopian parable, especially impressive for the fact that instead of giving up on what really goes on in most banks and hedge funds and making them a mere back drop for money-laundering and ancillary skulduggery, as many thriller-writers have done, his heart of darkness is the thing itself. The drama contains, as he notes in the acknowledgments, 'Gothic flights of fantasy'--the story reminiscent of everyone from Michael Crichton to Ian Fleming, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. Yet there is an uncomfortable core of reality there... Quite a few Financial Times readers will, I suspect, not only savour The Fear Index, but wince with recognition."--Financial Times

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'The Warden' by Anthony Trollope

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000Z

The book centers on the character of Mr. Harding, a clergyman of great personal integrity, whose charitable income far exceeds the purpose for which it was intended. Young John Bold turns his reforming zeal to exposing what he considers to be an abuse of privilege, despite being in love with Mr. Harding's daughter Eleanor. The novel was highly topical as a case regarding the misapplication of church funds was the scandalous subject of contemporary debate. But Trollope uses this specific case to explore and illuminate the universal complexities of human motivation and social morality. This edition includes an introduction and notes by David Skilton and illustrations by Edward Ardizzone.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Wig Begone' by Charles Courtley

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000Z

Wig Begone is an exhilarating tale of Charles' early career with disaster often lurking round the corner and culminating in his own appearance in front of England's most notorious judge!

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'The Litigators' by John Grisham

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000Z

'Grisham is brilliantly comic in a novel that is full of zest and brimming with memorable characters and rich storylines... The legal storylines are typically rich in social detail and instances of entertaining rascality... Away from his usual southern turf, Grisham is turned by Chicago into a more Dickensian writer, soft-hearted at times but predominantly funny... a brilliant comic set piece'

(The Sunday Times)

'The Litigators is up there with the best of Grisham's 25 novels... vintage Grisham. [His] style is direct and the result is a superbly plotted legal thriller'

(Sunday Express)

'The Litigators is a thrilling romp through the murky world of lawsuits and shysters - rich and poor. Packed with [Grisham's] signature twists and turns, not to mention lots of double-dealing, be careful if you're reading The Litigators on the bus, you may just miss your stop'

(Irish Independent)

'[A] snappy, well-turned novel...Grisham brings his usual nuanced understanding of tort law and civil jurisprudence'

(Washington Post)

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Letters to a Young Poet' by Rainer Maria Rilke

2011-12-14T07:00:00.001Z

"...I cannot think of a better book to put into the hands of any young would-be poet, as an inspirational guide to poetry and to surviving as a poet in a hostile world." Harry Fainlight, The Times

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'My Uncle Oswald' by Roald Dahl

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000Z

Roald Dahl's first-ever novel presents the scurrilous memoirs of that delightful old reprobate from switch bitch, Oswald Hendryks Cornelius - connoisseur, bon vivant, collector of spiders, scorpions, odd walking sticks, lover of opera, expert on Chinese porcelain, and without doubt the greatest fornicator of all time. In this delightful picaresque story, it is revealed how Uncle Oswald first achieved great wealth - all thanks to the Sundance blister beetle, which when ground to powder has the most electrifying aphrodisiac qualities. It is 1919 - armed with the powder and aided by the beautiful amoral Yasmin how comely, Oswald begins an audacious commercial enterprise which involves seducing the most famous men in Europe - from crowded heads to Bernard Shaw and Marcel Proust.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000Z

Jim Dixon has accidentally fallen into a job at one of Britain's new red brick universities. A moderately successful future in the History Department beckons. As long as Jim can survive a madrigal-singing weekend at Professor Welch's, deliver a lecture on 'Merrie England' and resist Christine, the hopelessly desirable girlfriend of Welch's awful son Bertrand.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Top American Law Blog 'Above The Law' reviews 'Law and Peace'

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000Z

Very many thanks to top American law blog Above the Law for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

Certainly, the pompous, jargon-laden speech of the Freeman in the video clip is reminiscent of the lawyers in Law & Peace: The BabyBarista Files, a recently-released satirical novel about the British legal profession by former barrister Tim Kevan. And the Freeman movement as a whole — essentially anarchy dressed up with ritual and long-winded rhetoric — bears more than a passing resemblance to Kevan’s picture of a ceremony-obsessed legal world where, behind the scenes, anything goes.

A recurrent theme in Law & Peace is the cynicism displayed by lawyers in private. At one point, the members of Kevan’s fictional chambers of barristers break off from a session of recruitment interviews to reflect on the sycophantic responses of the applicants to their questions. Later on, over a couple of pints in the local pub, they compile a set of truthful answers.

Why Law?

“Because I just love twisting the truth and taking technical points.”

Why personal injury?

“Because it’s easy and well, I like money.”

Why employment law?

“Because litigants in person are always easier to beat.”

Why landlaw and tenant [aka real estate]?

“Because I’ll enjoy doing-over impoverished tenants and hey, it’s one better even than being a bailiff. Why, it’s living the dream.”

When they’re not partaking in these chats, Kevan’s characters are padding their bills to private clients, screwing the publicly funded litigation system for all it’s worth, and generating as much confusion about the workings of law as they can. At one point, a lawyer named Slippery reflects: “It’s simple. The harder we work at complicating everything the more essential we become to being able to fix it. A wonderful, money-making virtuous circle.”

It may be fiction, but the grain of truth found in this witty distillation of Kevan’s ten years practising as a barrister in London gives an insight into why the U.K. public have become sick not just of politicians and bankers, but increasingly of lawyers, too.

In his rebuttal of the Freeman movement, Gardner argues, not a little pompously himself, that “law is the friend of political progress, not its enemy.” Given the legal profession’s failure to live up to this lofty billing during the boom years, perhaps it’s time lawyers shouldered some of the blame for the rise of the Freeman movement, rather than simply telling everyone how stupid it is.

Legal Aware review of 'Law and Disorder'

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000Z

Many Thanks to Legal Aware for their review of my book Law and Disorder. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

‘In ever-more wicked and devilishly-funny ways, from hacking into someone’s Facebook page to committing identity fraud, BabyB tumbles down the slippery slope from eager competitiveness to underhand racketeering faster than you can say “Objection your honour”’ Big Issue

‘For all those aspiring advocates who believe they are entering a glamorous or even principled profession, this book is essential reading.’ Independent

Funnily enough, my audiobook experience of ‘Law and Disorder’ by Tim Kevan was virtually identical to my experience of the #iPad2 #kindle version. Tim Kevan is the author of ‘Law and Peace’ and ‘Law and Disorder,’ which are both published by Bloomsbury and available on Amazon. For further information, visithttp://www.timkevan.com and http://timkevan.blogspot.com.

Tim has a very dry, but hilarious, sense of humour, and his characterisations are extremely clear. I recognised every single one of the character types in ‘Law and Disorder’, can visualise graphically some of the places in London referred to, and even though I am extremely unlikely to go anywhere near an Inn, apart from to attend an academic lecture on a topic which interests me, like human rights, I now have a handy picture of life as a barrister.

It doesn’t matter to me that my graphical representation of life as a junior barrister is probably as accurate as life as a Cambridge undergraduate, graduate or Master, after reading or watching Tom Sharpe’s brilliant ‘Porterhouse Blue’. I could recite, if necessary, certain passages from the book word-by-word; the ‘am I bovvered?’ scene is classic. Some lines are pearls of writing: for example, “Not even Barbara Windsor could have delivered the line better”.

The book is undeniably fictional, as one hopes that a real life BabyBarista does not exist, but the account s frighteningly realistic. It’s impossible to enjoy ‘Law and Disorder’ without wondering what makes Tim Kevan tick, and that is of course part of the success as Tim is a barrister-by-training. Which is why, having completed ‘Law and Disorder’ (several times), I am looking forward enormously to ‘Law and Peace’. Tim’s motivation, in part, unless I have completely misread him, is to try to understand what being a very junior barrister is all about. An unfortunate side-effect of this book is that you can’t help feeling an enormous amount of pity and/or admiration for those people who have somehow survived this process, if it is depicted reasonably faithfully. You indeed wonder how on earth a select few will make it to QC, suffice-to-say that it must help to be very thick-skinned!

Tim writes,

“I guess the thing about legal life is that it doesn’t necessarily need to end up being over-worked and stressful. But in a profession that bills itself out by the hour, there’s an inherent risk of it producing a tendency to commoditise what might be our most precious possession, that of time itself. As BabyBarista discovers, it certainly doesn’t have to be like that and during the course of the book he slowly starts to return to the things that really matter.”

(see here)

I wished to write this review, without having read other people’s thoughts on it. Law and Disorder started life as an anonymous blog and its appeal as a novel is obvious. Tim Kevan, a former barrister himself, has a sharp eye for detail. Law and Disorder was described by The Times as “a cross between The Talented Mr Ripley, Rumpole and Bridget Jones’s Diary” and Law and Peace has been described by the Daily Mail as a “funny, sharp account of backstabbing Bar life…highly recommended” and by broadcaster Jeremy Vine as “a novel bursting with invention”. They are based on the BabyBarista Blog which Tim has written for The Guardian. He is also the co-author of Why Lawyers Should Surf (with Dr Michelle Tempest).

I am also extremely mindful of giving away the story – but it’s a gem. The book commences with BabyBarista’s first day as a pupil barrister. He has just one year to win through whatever means he sees fit the sought-after prize of a tenancy in chambers. Competition is fierce: there’s “TopFirst”, who has a prize-winning CV but unfortunately a huge ego to match; “BusyBody” on a husband hunt but whose life seems to be predictably unpredictable; and “Wide-Eyed Worrier”, buckling under the burgeoning dimensions of the legal world.

“Litigation is like war.” So BabyBarista is told on being presented with a copy of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War during his first day in chambers. BabyB is about to discover that the battle lines are drawn not only in the courtroom but between the barristers who will be his neighbours for the next year of continual assessment in the furious ‘race for pupillage’. It is a lesson he is quick to learn – if fraud, philandering and a string of transgressions are to dictate which of the aspiring pupils make tenancy, BabyB appears to give as good as he gets. Part of you wishes to disapprove of BabyBarista’s behaviour, in the same way the Bar Standards Board most definitely would, but part of you may have some residual affection for the muddling along which epitomises Baby Barista’s rudimentary political survival techniques.

In summary, I strongly recommend this book, even if you have no interest in life at the Bar, young people, or London. It’s a marvellous piece of comedy scripting, and will engender a lot of emotions in your wish to support BabyBarista’s career and personal success. It would make a great Christmas present for any student currently doing the BPTC, for example, hint hint ….!

In a weird way, this book I feel would be incredibly inspiring for anybody about to start their long journey with an Inn of Court here in London. Bring on, ‘Law and peace”!

Book recommendation: 'A Week in December' by Sebastian Faulks

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000Z

`Readers will race through the pages like bankers through cash.' --Guardian

'During times of momentous change, men of letters are driven to produce works that fictionalise the state of the nation, linking individuals with historic events. The 19th century gave us Thackeray's Vanity Fair, Dickens's Our Mutual Friend and Trollope's The Way We Live Now; the 21st has given us Sebastian Faulks's A Week in December.' --Sunday Times

`Faulks's most vivid character is the odious John Veals, a hedge-fund manager, who relishes all the money that he makes and the power that he quietly exerts... Veals is brilliantly insidious... A thoughtful page-turner ... The handsome sunset is heavily, and rightly, weighed down by dark clouds.' --The Times

`As cold, impassive and deadly as a coiled rattlesnake, John Veals will endure as the epoch-defining villain of early 21st-century British fiction.' --Independent

`His book could not be more topical or bang up to date ...Faulks holds a mirror up to our drug-addled, money-obsessed society. The novel is full of Russian babes, venal politicians and bank fraudsters. What more could any reader want? Eat your heart out Charles Dickens.' --Tatler

`This vast novel, well-plotted and gripping throughout, is the first that Sebastian Faulks has set in our time... the ambition and scope of the book are to be applauded. The conclusion is suitably nail-biting and, pleasingly, love triumphs. Sebastian Faulks has probably got another best-seller on his hands.' --Spectator

`A portrayal of modern London that is both richly entertaining and highly rewarding. Faulks has come as close as anyone to completing the jigsaw that is this crazy, fascinating city of ours.' --Evening Standard

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Infamy or Praise review of 'Law and Peace'

2011-11-22T15:23:00.000Z

Very many thanks to Infamy or Praise for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

A couple of years ago, I reviewed and recommended Tim Kevan's first BabyBarista novel,BabyBarista and the Art of War:

This is a book worth reading; it's entertaining and insightful, building upon the best aspects of the much-praised BabyBarista blog and providing greater depth and color (or should that be colour?) to its characters and stories. It's not a flawless novel, but it's well worth your time.

In the second volume of "The BabyBarista Files", entitled Law & Peace: The BabyBarista Files, Kevan demonstrates his growth as a novelist. Law & Peace is as engaging as Art of War and its crisper plotting will likely make it more enjoyable for those who are less familiar with the idiosyncracies of the English bar's pupillage and tenancy system.

While readers of his earlier work will already be acquainted with the motley crew of supporting characters around protagonist BabyBarista, those who haven't read BabyBarista and the Art of War (or as it was retitled later, Law and DisOrder) and don't follow BabyB's adventures online at either The Guardian or Kevan's own BabyBarista site shouldn't be deterred. His convention of referring to all but a few characters by nicknames allows us to follow the story without referring back to the character descriptions preceding the first chapter.

As before, BabyB is an earnest figure who often does the wrong things for the right reasons. Struggling with the debts accumulated in putting him through his schooling and pupillage, this time out he becomes entangled in the unscrupulous schemes of a greedy solicitor, SlipperySlope, and of OldSmoothie, a barrister in his own chambers. As he finds himself out of his depth in their self-dealing and cynical plotting and targeted by TopFirst, a rival whom he bested in Art of War, BabyB relies on his wits to see him through. Ultimately, however, it's his at times discounted, if never entirely discarded moral character which both enables his success and makes it worth cheering.

As was the case with the first novel, Law & Peace is, in essence, a morality play. Various figures embody ideals whereas others are evils who tempt or persecute BabyB in this allegorical story. That and the novel's point-of-view narration allow BabyB to always remain the focus of this story, but it necessarily shortchanges characterization for many of the supporting players. We learn more about some of the characters from the earlier novel and learn enough about those introduced in this one, but none of them are especially deep. They represent types, characteristics, and challenges, but they have little existence beyond acting upon BabyB for good or ill. The continuing adventures of BabyBarista are a Pilgrim's Progress for the legal set; unlike that famous work, thankfully, BabyB's progress is never a humorless slog.

In reviewing Art of War, I wrote that its ending was "a bit too abrupt and convenient". Law & Peace builds to a sudden, sweeping resolution of its various plotlines, but the result is much more in keeping with the narrative to that point and thus is more satisfying. As before, Kevan was kind enough to send me a copy of his novel for review and, as before, I'm glad to send another copy on my own dime to a friend, an expat Geordie lawyer, rather than part with my own.

I'm looking forward to BabyB's next novel-length adventure, though I think Kevan will be hard-pressed to come up with a fiction to rival some real shenanigans involving the English bar. Anyone who reads BabyB's stories of his own and others' misfeasance and malfeasance and thinks that these are simply unbelievable need look no further than today's newspapers. If, as is alleged, a prominent lawyer for the now-defunct News of the World had a hand in the hiring of investigators to gather dirt on the private lives of lawyers representing phone hacking victims, can BabyB's next adventure possibly be outrageous enough to rival reality?

Book recommendation: 'Bartleby The Scrivener' by Herman Melville

2011-11-16T15:00:00.000Z

"I prefer not to," he respectfully and slowly said, and mildly disappeared.

Academics hail it as the beginning of modernism, but to readers around the world—even those daunted by Moby-Dick—Bartleby the Scrivener is simply one of the most absorbing and moving novellas ever. Set in the mid-19th century on New York City’s Wall Street, it was also, perhaps, Herman Melville's most prescient story: what if a young man caught up in the rat race of commerce finally just said, "I would prefer not to"?

The tale is one of the final works of fiction published by Melville before, slipping into despair over the continuing critical dismissal of his work after Moby-Dick, he abandoned publishing fiction. The work is presented here exactly as it was originally published in Putnam's magazine—to, sadly, critical disdain.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Jerusalem' by Jez Butterworth

2011-11-09T15:00:00.000Z

An Instant Modern Classic. A comic, contemporary vision of life in our green and pleasant land. BEST PLAY Evening Strtandard Awards BEST PLAY Critics Circle Awards. On St George's Day, the morning of the local county fair, Johnny Byron, local waster and modern day Pied Piper, is a wanted man. The council officials want to serve him an eviction notice, his children want their dad to take them to the fair, Troy Whitworth wants to give him a serious kicking and a motley crew of mates want his ample supply of drugs and alcohol.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Opheilia in Pieces' by Clare Jacob

2011-11-02T14:00:00.000Z

Nail-biting drama... If you like Silk, you will love this...

On the eve of her 39th birthday, top barrister Ophelia Dormandy decides she is going to make amends. Tonight, after months of late nights at her desk, she s going to return home early, cook a special supper maybe even wear that red dress Patrick once said he liked.

But Ophelia is in for a shock. After 20 years together, her husband announces he s been having an affair, and leaves. Her home life implodes, and work soon follows suit before long, she s broke, drinking too much and falling for a client of questionable innocence. And then she is faced with the most serious trial of her life, when a disgruntled defendant comes back to haunt her, threatening everything that she holds dear...

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'The Man Who Planted Trees' by Jean Giono

2011-10-26T15:00:00.000+01:00

An allegorical tale, urging readers to rediscover the harmonies of the countryside and prevent its wilful destruction.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

RebeccasReads review of 'Law and Peace'

2011-10-21T15:00:00.000+01:00

Very many thanks to RebeccasReads for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

The title of this book is a misnomer? With law and lawyers how can peace ever prevail…and more importantly how can lawyers live in a world of peace. I am reminded of the work “Utopia” wherein it is remarked that there are no lawyers in Utopia…for lawyers are persons who take advantage of misfortune- and Utopia is the perfect society, the only society were law and peace prevails.

Having read “Law and Disorder” a couple of years back, I knew that the author Tim Kevan has the stuff in him to give you a punch…but what “Law and Peace” provides is not merely a punch, but a real kick that will knock you over.

BabyBarista the protagonist whom we first met in “Law and Disorder” has learned the hard tricks of the trade…lying, cheating and all other underhand dealings to become a good lawyer. But BabyB is deep in financial trouble. He has to get out quick- come clean and save his neck…otherwise everything would be downhill. So does BabyB deal with it? Like a good lawyer he engages in shifty deals, blackmail and some share dealing techniques the types of which one might not even have heard in Wall Street.

What follows is a hilariously funny read which satires the legal profession to its maximum. Not since the days of A. P. Herbert and Laurance Polak has the humorous side of law been so much explored. The demise of John Mortimer a couple of years back left a void in pure legal fiction….and now that vacuum has been filled. Welcome Tim Kevan, the John Mortimer of the 21st century.

Book recommendation: 'The Hopeless Life Of Charlie Summers' by Paul Torday

2011-10-19T15:00:00.000+01:00

Hector Chetwode-Talbot, Eck to his friends, has left the army and is slightly at a loss as to what to do next, when he is approached by an old army pal, Bilbo Mountwilliam. Bilbo runs an investment fund company and business is booming. Bilbo persuades Eck to join the company as a 'greeter' for moneyed clients. All Eck has to do is supply the contacts with entertainment and large G&Ts and then the fund managers will do the rest. Soon Eck is able to buy himself a luxury sports car and decadent flat. It is on a golfing trip to France that Eck first meets Charlie Summers, a fly-by-night entrepreneur whose latest scheme is to import Japanese dog food into the UK. Soon Charlie lands on Eck's doorstep with his suitcase, intent on staying and relaunching his dog food business in the area. But with the financial crash looming, Eck begins to ask himself if they are so very different...

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Liar's Poker' by Michael Lewis

2011-10-12T15:00:00.000+01:00

'An amazing book, readable, funny and mind-boggling ... one of the great business books of all time' (Punch )

'Read all about it: headlong greed, inarticulate obscenity, Animal House horseplay . . .' (The Sunday Times )

'Immense verve and wit' (20/20 Magazine )

'A highly immoral book' (Daily Mail )

'Wickedly funny' (Daily Express )

'As traders would say, this book is a buy' (Financial Times )

Available on Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Other People's Money' by Justin Cartwright

2011-10-05T15:00:00.000+01:00

The venerable bank of Tubal & Co is in trouble. It's not the first time in its three-hundred-year history - it was bailed out by Rothschilds' in 1847 - but this time will be the last. A sale is under way, and a number of rather important facts need to be kept hidden, especially from any potential buyer. Hundreds of millions of pounds are being diverted - temporarily - to shore it up, masterminded by the bank's chairman, Julian Trevelyan-Tubal. His aging father Sir Henry would be horrified, but fortunately he is in the early stages of dementia, writing admonitory letters that all say the same thing to Julian from the sunny climes of Antibes. His letters instruct his son to stick to the time-honoured traditions of the bank, and, indeed, had his son taken his advice the bank might still be solvent. Great families have all sorts of secrets, though, and this one is no exception. And whether they are lovers, old partners, or retainers who resent not being part of the family, they have a nasty habit of turning awkward. When an alimony payment from the bank to an abandoned husband, the penniless, quixotic director (currently putting on Thomas the Tank Engine, hoping to woo Daniel Day-Lewis for his new playscript), a trickle of consequences turns into a tsunami of potential catastrophe for the family, the bank and all who sail in her. Other People's Money is both a subtle thriller and an acutely delineated portrait of a world and a class. Justin Cartwright manipulates our sympathies with masterly ease, unwinding the story with gentle satire, and, as ever, acute and beautifully phrased insights into the eccentricities and weaknesses of the human condition.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Charon QC review of ‘Law and Peace’

2011-10-04T23:45:00.000+01:00

Very many thanks to Charon QC for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

Law and Peace is a very good read and builds upon the amusement of Tim Kevan’s regular BabyBarista column in The Guardian and the first book BabyBarista and The Art of War.(now renamed Law and Disorder)

BabyBarista is populated with wonderful characters – few a credit to the legal profession, it has to be said – each with their own perspective on the changing legal landscape.

I enjoy the regular column and I have enjoyed both of the BabyBarista books published so far. I leave you with this extract from a recent BabyBarista post… to give you a flavour of the parodic content…

Have you heard that UpTights, OldSmoothie and HeadofChambers have all applied to be judges?” said TheCreep.

“Why on earth would anyone want to be a judge?” said BusyBody. “I can’t think of anything worse than having to sit around listening to barristers self-indulgently wittering on all day.”

“Not forgetting the nervous meanderings of witnesses,” said Teflon.

“And then there’s the laborious litigants-in-person with their fifty-page long arguments and reams of irrelevant evidence,” said TheCreep.

“Which is a little rich coming from a barrister who sometimes resembles a litigant-in-person,” said TheVamp.

“So why on earth do they want to do it?” asked BusyBody.

“Pensions, of course,” said OldSmoothie. “What little pension I had left after two divorces has now been destroyed in the financial crisis and I hardly think things are going to improve. I mean, it’s not as if there are even any quangos left to sit out one’s days in some degree of comfort.”

And.. if you wish to keep up to speed with BabyBarista or order the book…. no better place than BabyBarista’s own website.

While Abraham Lincoln once said…“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.” This would not be an aphorism acceptable to BabyBarista. I hope you enjoy reading…..

Book recommendation: 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' by Paul Torday

2011-09-28T15:00:00.000+01:00

"A brilliant satire, leavened by genuine passion for its protagonist and his sport" (REBECCA SEAL OBSERVER )

"A delight ... Paul Torday's sparkling debut uses spoof parliamentary papers to tell a splendidly dotty tale" (SALLY COUSINS SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

"Utterly charming and extremely funny" (IRISH TIMES )

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Roll on Friday review of 'Law and Disorder'

2011-09-22T16:19:00.002+01:00

Very many overdue thanks to VultureCulture at Roll on Friday for reviewing my book Law and Disorder. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

Tim Kevan has numbered the ranks of the legal bloggers for over three years now. The former barrister pens the musings of a fictional junior barrister, BabyBarrista, who discovers that the bar is stuffed to the brim with incompetent, arrogant and out of touch individuals playing the system for all it’s worth.

And the blog has been popular. It was serialised in The Times, before Kevan switched allegiances to The Guardian once the paywall was installed. And from the blog a book was born. Law and Disorder, Kevan’s debut novel, is the first instalment of BabyB’s career path. It tells the tale of the young pupil barrister navigating his way through a year of pupillage, competing against a motley crew of fellow pupils to score the prize of tenancy.

BabyB's journey starts off with the (non-shocking) realisation that he is little more than a glorified coffee maker And it gets worse as he realises that his chambers are populated by unscrupulous characters.

Early indications that BabyB must get tenancy in order to support his poor, indebted, single mother who has sacrificed herself financially at the altar of his legal dreams - sound like the beginnings of a cliché and made VultureCulture groan inside a little.

However, it turns out that BabyB is not a self-righteous twerp who just wants to make a better life for his poor old ma. He is far from immune to a bit (in fact a lot) of backstabbing in order to grab the tenancy trophy from his thrusting fellow pupils. He plots their respective downfalls with relish - stooping to impersonation, identity theft, Facebook hacking, fraud and some kinky business along the way.

A deft study in the nuances of characterisation this book isn’t. The novel’s cast is colourful, brash and largely 2D - few of them very appealing. Only one person is given a name, BabyB’s confidante and best pal Claire. The rest are bestowed with helpful monikers. TopFirst is the main competition – bright, arrogant but led by his pants. TheBoss is BabyB’s very dodgy pupil master and TheVamp is a tenant in chambers and carry on character with whom BabyB enjoys a brief dalliance. You get the idea.

The reader is catapulted head first into BabyB's Machiavellian scheming. There are certainly elements of cliché and farce throughout - but the book is richer for it. Kevan manages to swiftly draw the reader into BabyB's duplicitous journey. The book is full of humour and sharp observations about the legal system and those who play it to their advantage. It quickly grabs the reader's attention and turns out to be really quite hard to put down.

Book recommendation: 'The Warden' by Anthony Trollope

2011-09-21T15:00:00.000+01:00

The tranquil atmosphere of the cathedral town of Barchester is shattered when a scandal breaks concerning the financial affairs of a Church-run almshouse for elderly men. In the ensuing furore, Septimus Harding, the almshouse’s well-meaning warden, finds himself pitted against his daughter’s suitor Dr John Bold, a zealous local reformer. Matters are not improved when Harding’s abrasive son-in law, Archdeacon Grantly, leaps into the fray to defend him against a campaign Bold begins in the national press. An affectionate and wittily satirical view of the workings of the Church of England, The Warden is also a subtle exploration of the rights and wrongs of moral crusades and, in its account of Harding’s intensely felt personal drama, a moving depiction of the private impact of public affairs.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

WardblawG review of 'Law and Peace'

2011-09-20T11:39:00.002+01:00

Very many thanks to Gavin Ward at WardblawG for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book at Amazon.co.uk

With BabyBarista having won the battle for tenancy, one may have thought that he would take things a little easier without resorting to his wayward moral compass, perhaps with fewer dirty tactics capable of destroying careers and, potentially in TopFirst’s case, lives.

Laugh-out-loud from front to back, the book is a racing read, as with the first. When I read the first BabyBarista book I was under the impression that it was a real account of a pupil in chambers. Nevertheless, despite knowing that the second book was still a fictional account, I couldn’t help but questioning on every page if those events had actually taken place in one form or another. As The Lawyer Magazine commented several years ago, “If this is a fictional account it is genius”. Well, the same applies for Law & Peace.

From tales of playing drinking games in court (and I should point out that there is planking in court to come in a future book) to seriously corrupt litigation tactics and indeed crooked lawyers and barristers, Law & Peace covers themes which most legal writers have never approached.

Just as BabyBarista’s first experiences as a pupil were largely influenced by the principles set out in Sun Tzu’s Art of War, so are his actions in Law & Peace. Almost at every possible opportunity where the reasonable person would ask “what should I do next?”, BabyBarista seems to have a clear idea of the possible options and often chooses the most devious, although sometimes he doesn’t really have a choice because of certain characters e.g. SlipperySlope, BigMouth, TheBoss & co.

But it’s not all corrupt litigation: characters such as Old Ruin, “BabyB’s redemption”, demonstrate that there is plenty of good left in the practice of law, which is in stark contrast to SlipperySlope’s idea that barristers and lawyers all end up becoming the same crooked characters.

The description of the novel as a “Machiavellian romp through the legal world” is spot-on, with so many injections of innuendo, you’ll probably have to read the book a second time to get them all. With Tim Kevan also being very tech-savvy there are some amusing passages of barristers getting used to new technologies such as Twitter and smartphones, with a particularly hilarious take on the “sent from my iPhone/Blackberry wireless device” message on smartphones.

Also clearly moving in parts with a developing romance, the novel contains various references to leaving the law and going surfing. Maybe it’s just because I’ve left the long hours of legal practice myself that I liked these references in particular.

Mirroring other comments, perhaps one of the only minor criticisms I’d have is that a lot of the same themes from Law & Disorder are covered in Law & Peace. But I think that’s a good thing and is to be welcomed – if you’ve read one book, you’ll have to read the other. Indeed, as I still do, you’ll enjoy continuing to follow the blogging of BabyBarista, both on his blog itself and on Twitter.

New BabyBarista store!

2011-09-17T14:50:00.000+01:00

For anyone who can't think of a gift for a lawyer friend of theirs, maybe consider getting a BabyBarista branded gift from the new BabyBarista Store featuring the wonderful cartoons by Alex Williams. The store currently includes a mug for £10, coasters for £4.50 and a pack of ten cards for £9. Postage is £6 for the first item and then £1.50 for each subsequent one. You can see all the items for sale here.

Book recommendation: 'For Esmé - with Love and Squalor' by J. D. Salinger

2011-09-14T15:00:00.001+01:00

For Esmé With Love and Squalor includes two of Salinger's most famous and critically acclaimed stories, and helped to establish him as one of the contemporary literary greats. The title story recounts a Sergeant's meeting with a young girl before being sent into combat. When it was first published in The New Yorker in 1950 it was an immediate sensation and prompted a flood of readers' fan-letters.

'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' is the first of the author's stories to feature the Glass family, the loveable and idiosyncratic family who would appear in much of Salinger's later fiction. A haunting and unforgettable piece of writing, the story follows the eldest sibling, Seymour Glass, and his wife, Muriel, as they embark on an ill-fated honeymoon in Florida . . .

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'My Uncle Oswald' by Roald Dahl

2011-09-07T15:00:00.001+01:00

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'A Married Man' by Piers Paul Read

2011-08-31T15:00:00.000+01:00

Every August, barrister John Strickland leaves London for the annual holiday at his wife Clare's family home in Norfolk. This year, on a lazy summer s afternoon Strickland, reads something that changes his life for good. All that Strickland has accepted as the way things are, for good or bad, is turned on its head. In a few short months he turns from middle-class lawyer into socialist MP, from loving husband to adulterer and more. Until one of his more cruel mid-life fantasies is brought to life - and John Strickland finds that despite everything he is and always will be a married man.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Flashman' by George MacDonald Fraser

2011-08-24T15:00:00.000+01:00

The first instalment of the Flashman Papers sees the fag-roasting rotter from Tom Brown's Schooldays commence his military career as a reluctant secret agent in Afghanistan. Expelled from Rugby for drunkenness, and none too welcome at home after seducing his father's mistress, the young Flashman embarks on a military career with Lord Cardigan's Hussars. En route to Afghanistan, our hero hones his skills as a soldier, duellist, imposter, coward and amorist (mastering all 97 ways of Hindu love-making during a brief sojourn in Calcutta), before being pressed into reluctant service as a secret agent. His Afghan adventures culminate in a starring role in that great historic disaster, the Retreat from Kabul.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Article on TotallyLegal.com

2011-08-19T11:58:00.002+01:00

Very many thanks to TotallyLegal for letting me talk about my new book Law and Peace. You can read it here or below, and you can buy the book on Amazon.

Having written my first BabyBarista novel Law and Disorder a little while back, last year I was faced with the task of writing book two. This came as more of a challenge than the first given that I couldn’t simply use the stresses and strains of pupillage to drive the plot along and instead had to look to other themes and stories. In the end, I did just what I’d done in book one and let the characters loose to tell their own stories.

What eventually came out was Law and Peace, published by Bloomsbury this May and which thankfully has garnered some decent reviews with The Daily Maildescribing it as “highly recommended” and a “funny, sharp account of backstabbing Bar life” and broadcaster Jeremy Vine calling it “a novel bursting with invention”.

The book follows BabyBarista’s second year in chambers in which as the newest tenant in chambers, he must face down old enemies, try to win compensation for a group of ASBO-attracting pensioners and unravel the complicated knots of his love life, not to mention his mother's finances.

Under the wise and watchful eye of OldRuin, he tries to keep his nose (and his wig) clean, but when SlipperySlope, an unscrupulous solicitor offers him a quick way out of his financial difficulties he soon becomes embroiled in blackmail, dodgy share-dealing and the dark arts of litigation.

With his old adversary TopFirst out for revenge and the chance to be awarded a coveted ‘red bag’ at stake, BabyB has to use all the tricks of his trade to extricate himself from his legal quagmire, win the case for his mad old clients, and somehow convince his best friend to fall in love with him.

One of the themes that comes out of the book is BabyBarista’s preoccupation with work and his failing to give enough time to his friends, family and other things which make him happy. In the end, it’s the example of others who show him the way with the old people taking him skateboarding and a friend of theirs introducing him to surfing as well as OldRuin, Claire and his mother emphasising the importance of love and friendship.

It’s something which I’ve had time to reflect on myself having spent ten years at the Bar in London before taking what has become a prolonged break to move down to the sea in North Devon. This has allowed me to return to the much simpler country way of life that I had known as a child with time to get out into the surf and the countryside as well as to settle into the local community.

I guess the thing about legal life is that it doesn’t necessarily need to end up being over-worked and stressful. But in a profession that bills itself out by the hour, there’s an inherent risk of it producing a tendency to commoditise what might be our most precious possession, that of time itself. As BabyBarista discovers, it certainly doesn’t have to be like that and during the course of the book he slowly starts to return to the things that really matter.

Book recommendation: 'Anatomy of a Murder' by Imogen Robertson

2011-08-17T15:00:00.000+01:00

The streets of London seethe with rumour and conspiracy as the King's navy battles the French at sea. And while the banks of the Thamesswarm with life, a body is dragged from its murky waters. In another part of town, where the air seems sweeter, the privileged enjoy a brighter world of complacent wealth and intoxicating celebrity. But as society revels in its pleasures, a darker plot is played out.
Yet some are willing to look below the surface to the unsavoury depths. Mrs Harriet Westerman believes passionately in justice. Reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther is fascinated by the bones beneath the skin. Invited to seek the true nature of the dead man, they risk censure for an unnatural interest in murder. But when the safety of a nation is at stake, personal reputation must give way to the pursuit of reason and truth.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Bleak House' by Charles Dickens

2011-08-10T15:00:00.000+01:00

With an Introduction and Notes by Doreen Roberts, University of Kent at Canterbury and illustrations by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz), "Bleak House" is one of Dickens' finest achievements, establishing his reputation as a serious and mature novelist, as well as a brilliant comic writer. It is at once a complex mystery story that fully engages the reader in the work of detection, and an unforgettable indictment of an indifferent society. Its representations of a great city's underworld, and of the law's corruption and delay, draw upon the author's personal knowledge and experience. But it is his symbolic art that projects these things in a vision that embraces black comedy, cosmic farce, and tragic ruin. In a unique creative experiment, Dickens divides the narrative between his heroine, Esther Summerson, who is psychologically interesting in her own right, and an unnamed narrator whose perspective both complements and challenges hers.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'The Case of the Velvet Claws' by Erle Stanley Gardner

2011-08-03T15:00:00.001+01:00

Thanks to a bungled robbery at a fancy hotel, the already-married Eva Griffin has been caught in the company of a prominent congressman. To protect the politico, Eva's ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid his hush money. But Perry Mason has other plans. He tracks down the phantom fat cat who secretly runs the blackmailing tabloid -- only to discover a shocking scoop.

By the time Mason's comely client finally comes clean, her husband has taken a bullet in the heart. Now Perry Mason has two choices: represent the cunning widow in her wrangle for the dead man's money -- or take the rap for murder.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Lucky Jim' by Kingsley Amis

2011-07-27T15:00:00.000+01:00

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Billy Budd' by Herman Melville

2011-07-20T15:00:00.000+01:00

Melville's short stories are masterpieces. The best are to be appreciated on more than one level and those presented here are rich with symbolism and spiritual depth. Set in 1797, "Billy Budd", Foretopman exploits the tension of this period during the war between England and France to create a tale of satanic treachery, tragedy and great pathos that explores human relationships and the inherently ambiguous nature of man-made justice. Tales such as "Bartleby", "Benito Cereno", "The Lightning Rod Man", "The Tartarus of Maids or I" and "My Chimney", show the timeless poetic power of Melville's writing as he consciously uses the disguise of allegory in various ways and to various ends.

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Review of 'Law and Peace' in Daily Mail

2011-07-16T15:24:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to Wendy Holden of the Daily Mail for the following review of my book Law and Peace, which is available from Amazon.co.uk

More slimy clerks crop up in Law & Peace, the second novel to emerge from The Guardian’s BabyBarista blog. Written from the male barrister’s perspective (again by a real-life wig-wearer), this funny, sharp account of backstabbing Bar life makes a great companion volume to Ophelia and comes highly recommended

Book recommendation: 'Legal Fictions' by A Laurence Polak

2011-07-13T15:00:00.001+01:00

"Well-known characters from Shakespeare here appear in the modern courts. The judgments are ingenious, the parodying of the modern judicial idiom is most successful. No reviewer can do them justice - they have to be read; enjoyment and instruction are guaranteed." - Cambridge Law Journal

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Book recommendation: 'Old Filth' by Jane Gardam

2011-07-06T15:00:00.001+01:00

‘Beautiful, vivid and defiantly funny’ The Times. ‘This novel is surely Gardam’s masterpiece. On the human level, it is one of the most moving fictions I have read for years.’ Guardian. ‘Another triumph … a magnificent, deeply moving and compassionate portrait of an era and a sentimental education. Please read it’ Daily Mail ‘Magnificent’ Sunday Times. ‘Beautifully written and strangely moving’ John Mortimer, Spectator

Available from Amazon.co.uk

Review of 'Law and Peace' by Carrefaz blog

2011-06-03T11:36:00.001+01:00

Very many thanks to Carrefax blog for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read it here or below. You can buy the book on amazon.
Good ol’BabyB is back! Having caught [by every method of subterfuge at his disposal] the golden snitch we know as ‘tenancy’ in chambers (at the conclusion of Kevan’s first instalment of BabyBarista, Law and Disorder: Confessions of a Pupil Barrister), we reunite with BB as he embarks on his career as a fully-fledged junior member of the Bar of England and Wales. However, although the battle for tenancy is over, “the war has just begun”.

Those familar with the BabyB’s journey through pupillage in Law and Disorder will recall how he picked off his competition for the prized place in chambers. He stood by and watched as poor old Worrier brought a trumped claim for sex discrimination which blew up in her face [she has now joined the other side of the legal profession]. There was ThirdSix who ended up in a spot of bother when his papers for court were switched. BabyB also had time to stitch-up his first-six pupil master, The Boss. And, of course, there was TopFirst – BabyB’s sworn arch enemy who fell into the jaws of a honeytrap devised by our cunning little hero. That pompous little snotbag is now out for vengance and he’s pulling no punches.

The battlelines are drawn around BB’s first big case: BabyB, alongside OldSmoothie and TheVamp appears on behalf of group of charming senior citizen (the Moldies) who claim that their brains are being fried waves emitted from a mobile phone mast erected by a cynical telecoms company represented by none other than TopFirst lead by UpTights. Matters turn much darker than they ever did in Law and Disorder as BabyB and TopFirst resort, amongst other things, to insider dealing and witness tampering to advance their cause and land the other in the nasty stuff. There is even plot to brainwash the judge hearing the case to give judgment in favour of Moldies the help of a Derren Brown-like mentalist.

The murkier side of litigation is a major theme in Law & Peace and we see BabyB sailing dangerously close the dark side being caught as he so often is between a rock and a hard place. The massive debt BB’s mum ran up sending him up to Oxford has been bought up by his instructing solicitor in the Moldy case, SlipperSlope, who could foreclose on the sum at the drop of a hat leaving if BB and his mum homeless unless keeps hushed about the web of shady antics in which SlipperySlope and the ruthless ScandalMongerer have entangled him. And, at every step of the way, where evil lurks TopFirst is sure not to be far away.
The question is can BabyB (with the help benevolent mentor OldRuin) keep the dark forces at bay and save the day?

So, what can we all learn from Law & Peace? That all work and no play makes BabyB a dull and broken boy? Perhaps. One thing is for sure: If you loved Law and Disorder you’ll love Law & Peace just as much.
A blindingly decent read and a must for anyone with a thing for Myla underwear and Christian Louboutin heels…

Many thanks to you Mr Kevan for this wonderful book!

Broadcaster Jeremy Vine praises 'Law and Peace'

2011-05-15T22:45:00.000+01:00

Thanks to broadcaster Jeremy Vine for the following comment on my new book Law and Peace which is available on amazon.

"The legal world is laid bare in a novel bursting with invention. What a cast of characters Tim Kevan has assembled -drawn so acutely that I almost worry they might be real"
Jeremy Vine, Broadcaster

Please buy a copy of my new book 'Law and Peace'

2011-05-02T23:35:00.001+01:00

My new novel Law and Peace has just been published by Bloomsbury. It’s a legal comedy based on the blog I write for The Guardian and is the second instalment of the BabyBarista Files, the first being Law and Disorder which was described by broadcaster Jeremy Vine as “a wonderful, racing read - well-drawn, smartly plotted and laugh out loud” and by The Times as “a cross between The Talented Mr Ripley, Rumpole and Bridget Jones's Diary”. It is available at amazon.co.uk.

There is an official launch party for the book on Wednesday 11th May at the Old Bank of England Pub at 194 Fleet Street, London EC4 from 6-10pm. It’s open to everyone and there’s no need to reply but it’d be great to see you and any friends you’d like to bring along. Judging by the last launch, it promises to be a good party. More details are here. Signed copies of the book will also be available both at the party and then from 12th May at the Fleet Street, High Holborn and Ludgate Circus branches of Waterstones.

A request: please help spread the word and forward this on either by email or by clicking the Twitter or Facebook icons below.

Family Lore Blog reviews 'Law and Peace'

2011-04-26T23:46:00.001+01:00

Very many thanks to John Bolch at the Family Lore Blog for reviewing my new book Law and Peace. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book on amazon.

'Law and Peace is the sequel to Tim's first BabyBarista novel Law and Disorder, which I reviewed (under its original title BabyBarista and The Art of War), here.

At the end of Law and Disorder our hero had managed, by hook or (more likely) by crook, to secure a precious tenancy. Law and Peace takes up the story as BabyBarista begins his first year practising on his own account. His past is not entirely behind him, however, with the continuing worry of the huge debts that his mother ran up to get him through Oxford, and the continuing threat of dire retribution from his arch-enemy, TopFirst.

A possible solution to the debt problem presents itself when SlipperySlope, that fine example of the other side of the profession, makes BabyB an offer he can't refuse. Needless to say, this involves BabyB getting mixed up in all sorts of skullduggery and shenanigans, as every means at his disposal are used to win an important case involving the 'Moldies', a delightful cast of ASBO-attracting geriatrics.

And who is on the other side of the Moldy litigation? Why, TopFirst of course, and for him it's personal. To add spice to the rivalry, the two of them enter into a wager as to who will be the first to get a coveted 'red bag', awarded to a junior barrister by a leader in their case if they do a particularly good job, with the loser having to act for the winner as a mini-pupil (read: dogsbody), for a week.

As with Law and Disorder, what follows is a romp through the all the dark corners of the legal profession: we have a judge with a fetish for 'ladies in particular attire', barristers who will stop at nothing to further their career and solicitors who employ various dubious persons to obtain the evidence needed to win the case. All of our favourite characters from the first book are there, together with one or two new ones, such as Smutton, a glamorous partner in SlipperySlope's firm whose every word drips with innuendo, much to BabyB's embarrassment.

On the subject of favourite characters, BabyB is once again guided through his adventure by the wise and gentle hand of OldRuin, who provides sage advice and assistance, both in respect of BabyB's professional and his personal life.

But, as with the first book, Law and Peace is not just a story. The narrative is liberally interspersed with amusing anecdotes and interludes, in particular describing the, ahem, camaraderie and friendly banter between fellow members of the Bar. There are even some moments when characters dare to contemplate that there may be more to life than the ruthless struggle up the ladder to the top of the profession.

As you may have gathered, Law and Peace is more of the same, but that is no bad thing at all. It provides the same highly entertaining read for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. If you loved Law and Disorder, you'll love this. If you haven't read either, read Law and Disorder, and I guarantee that you'll then want to read Law and Peace.'

First review of 'Law and Peace'

2011-04-10T19:50:00.000+01:00

The first review of my new book Law and Peace has arrived and it comes from top legal blogger Law Minx to whom I send very many thanks indeed. You can read the review here or below. You can buy the book on amazon.

"I do hope, dear blogwatchers, that I have not given you cause to be in any way concerned regarding the general health of our erstwhile hero by dint of the title of this post, for, while it may be entirely the case that he has recently had cause to swallow enough sea water while learning to surf so as to place him in line for the title of honorary president/chief executive/trustee/counsel and general poster child for that fine and UPSTANDING organisation,Surfers Against Sewage, I refer in fact to the forthcoming publication of book two of his adventures at the bar, as dictated to Mr Tim Kevan ( Barrister of the Middle Templeand latently a tenant of 1 Temple Gardens) entitled 'Law and Peace'.

Following his successful campaign to secure tenancy ( at the expense of every other pupil in his set) Baby B sets out to build himself a practice by as many conventional and, indeed deeply unconventional means as is possible, whilst doing continual battle with his arch enemy, TopFirst, in their intensely competitive quest to be first to attain a coveted Red Bag. The battle lines are drawn, and played out with considerableauteur, in a cause of action lodged by a group of retired persons, affectionately known to Baby B as the Moldies, wherein their eccentric behaviour is attributed to a local mobile phone mast, and for which substantial damages are sought.

Being fortunate enough to have been given a copy to read in advance of publication, I must say that I found it extremely enjoyable. Tim is highly adept at weaving the main thread of the book - the moldy litigation- in and out of Baby B's dodgy dealings, court pranks, and relations with his friends and family with a subtle, underlying premise, to wit, the importance of living life in the moment, and savouring it, a premise which speaks to me following last year's Gharstlie Lergification. You simply never know what's around the corner.

Factor into the mix the wonderfully eccentric characters of B's chambers, who load their conversations with all manner of saucy innuendo and general one upmanship, while now and again giving small insights into the fact that their lives never truly reflect the importance of taking pleasure in the present, then you have a book that is fast paced, and punchy filled with rich characters who's machinations are really easy to follow ( even if you haven't read the first book ' Law and Disorder') whilst reflecting the droll humor that is beloved of many a lawyer without making it an entirely gnostic exercise.

In short, then, dear blogwatchers, I STRONGLY commend this book to you as anessential part of your summer reading - trust me, once you pick it up, you wont be able to put it down! ( I certainly couldn't - I finished it in a DAY!!!)

As with 'Law and Disorder', 'Law And Peace' is published by the House of Potter, and is presently available for pre order via that fine interweb bookseller, Amazon. Following its publication on the 3rd of May, it will then be available in all good bookshops nationwide.There's even a very nice launch party to celebrate the fact on the 11th of the same month, at the Old Bank of England Pub on Fleet Street - go along and say hi!

G'WAN - You know you want to!!!!!"

Please come to my book launch! (Click to enlarge)

2011-04-07T12:50:00.001+01:00

Nice review of 'Law and Disorder' audiobook

2011-03-28T12:32:00.001+01:00

Nice review of the audiobook of the audiobook of Law and Disorder at the blog DietJustice. It says:

"I was browsing audible.co.uk yesterday, and came across Law & Disorder, by Tim Kevan, a fictional account of a pupil barrister. I was a bit sceptical...i expected it to be an amateur attempt at putting a comedy twist on a usually very dry topic. I was wrong, and pleasantly was surprised! The author begins by introducing the reader/listener to the cast. None of the cast are addressed by name, but are given a name that described their role or personality. For example; Head of Chambers, Baby Barrister, High Maintenance and Worrier. The characters are developed throughout the book, and get themselves into various degrees of mischief and trouble. Its a really easy listen/read, and i suspect it gives a pretty good insight into the challenges a pupil barrister will face."

The audiobook is available on audible.co.uk and the book itself is available at amazon.co.uk.

CPD Webinars - CPD made easy

2011-03-26T11:01:00.001Z

As well as writing the BabyBarista Blog, I also run a company called CPD Webinars which provides online video training in personal injury and employment law. We are now celebrating our fourth year and have decided to make available all our back content for FREE to all subscribers. This means that for £795+VAT a whole office can receive access to 60 CPD hours by some of the country's leading lawyers. For more information click here. To receive a FREE webinar which will give two CPD hours, click here.

Review of 'Law and Disorder' in the New Zealand Lawyer Magazine

2011-02-28T11:46:00.001Z

Nice review of Law and Disorder in the New Zealand Lawyer Magazine by Kris Gledhill. You can read it here.

Interview with Durham University newspaper

2011-02-26T01:09:00.001Z

The Durham University newspaper Palatinate has just published an interview I did which is written by Vincent McAviney. You can read it here.

Interview with JustGoDirect.com

2011-02-24T01:22:00.001Z

Just Go Direct have just published an interview I did for them which you can read here.

Just Go Direct takes an innovative approach to legal recruitment by enabling law firms to advertise positions which applicants may then apply for directly for to that law firm. They are also a sponsor of this site.

BabyBarista gets a mention in The Hollywood Reporter!

2011-02-11T23:53:00.002Z

Nice to see my BabyBarista Blog getting a mention in The Hollywood Reporter for the post on OldSmoothie’s advice on libel laws. Also, very many thanks to John Bolch over at the Family Lore Blog for awarding me his January Post of the Month award (pictured).

Special offer on 'Law and Disorder' audiobook!

2011-01-11T16:23:00.001Z

Here's the publisher's press release for the launch of the audiobook of 'Law and Disorder' along with a special offer price of £16.33 at the bottom

Law and Disorder Launched on Unabridged Audio!

The new unabridged audio version of Law and Disorder has just been launched, featuring Tim reading every word himself.

“Its not often that we encourage authors to read their own work but Tim is a natural narrator,” said Dominic White of publisher Whole Story Audio Books.

Based on the long-running Times blog, Baby Barista opens a window onto the fascinating, secretive and frequently absurd ways of the legal profession. The book has met with lots of very positive reviews, and the unabridged audio brings all the humour.

Available now, you can order a copy of the 8 CD Law & Disorder from www.wholestoryaudio.co.uk.*

“We had a lot of fun recording the audio book, and Whole Story Audio Books really made sure that we got it spot on,” said Tim. “They only publish unabridged audiobooks so they are really focussed on the work of the author and turning it into excellent listening entertainment.”

Whole Story Audio Books publish more than 1300 unabridged titles across a wide range of genres available on their website.

* Special offer: Exclusive discount for Tim’s contact list – 20% off at www.wholestoryaudio.co.uk – order Law and Disorder (8 CDs, 9.25 hours) for just £16.33 (RRP £20.41). Offer expires 28thFebruary 2011. Simply enter the following code into the shopping basket: LAWA-NDDI-SORD-ER01

A Christmas card from BabyBarista!

2010-12-21T19:10:00.001Z

This cartoon is by Alex Williams who draws the Queen's Counsel cartoons for The Times and in numerous books including Lawyers Uncovered. He also does the cartoons for BabyBarista and has had two more excellent books published recently: 101 Ways to Leave the Law and 101 Uses for a Useless Banker. He offers almost all of his cartoons for sale at £120 for originals and £40 for copies and they can be obtained from this email info@qccartoon.com.

Buy the first book of the BabyBarista Files which is published by Bloomsbury and called Law and Disorder.

'Law and Disorder' on audiobook

2010-12-12T15:32:00.000Z

I recently went to London and recorded a reading of the whole of Law and Disorder which is Book 1 of The BabyBarista Files. It took three whole days of reading and is now available on both cassette and audiobook from W.F. Howes. You can hear an extract here.

Coming soon: 'Law and Peace'...

2010-12-06T15:22:00.002Z

I have now finished the second novel in The BabyBarista Files and it will be published by Bloomsbury in May. it is available for pre-order on amazon at £11.99.

Review of 'Law and Disorder' at DefrostingColdCases.Com

2010-12-01T15:21:00.002Z

Nice review of Law and Disorder at DefrostingColdCases.Com. He says in particular:

"British humour, subtle power play, plots and intrigue…Vidocq was sold! I cannot wait to read more about this barrister."

Weekend video: Drunk Vegas Lawyer causes mistrial in court (Part 1)

2010-10-30T15:37:00.001+01:00

Legal Week reviews the Law Blogs

2010-10-21T15:51:00.001+01:00

Nice article by Alex Aldridge in Legal Week in which he reviews the UK's law blogs. You can read the full text here. He says the following about the BabyBarista Blog:

"Individual blogs like BabyBarista, Charon QC, Head of Legal and Geeklawyer led the way...

BabyBarista - Fictional insider account of life at the Bar, running since 2006 and made into a book, Law and Disorder, last year. In adapting a Bridget Jones-style comical account to the law, author Tim Kevan arguably invented a new sub-genre that has sparked a number of imitators. The blog is now hosted by The Guardian website."

Review of ‘Law and Disorder’ by Charles Courtley

2010-10-12T22:33:00.003+01:00

Nice review of Law and Disorder by Charles Courtley, the pen-name for the author of the excellent Wig Begone. You can read the article here or below.

LAUGHING AT THE LAW
I’m delighted to state that my book now appears on the Lovereading website and so I join a pantheon of other legal humorists – a bunch of writers all dedicated to treating the Law as a bit of a joke.
So, if you’re tired of serious coutroom novels, lighten up a little with a toddle through our pretend world.
Henry Cecil’s ” Brothers in Law” series will take you right back to the career of a rather prim barrister of the 1950s, whilst John Mortimer’s immortal “Rumpole of the Bailey” books examine the legal scene from the other side of the age spectrum.
Tim Kevan will bring you bang up to date with his witty book “Law and Disorder” – a brilliant parody of the modern profession and I trust that my own, more traditional tale, “Wig Begone by Charles Courtley” , the nostalgic story of a young barrister’s shenanigans in the 1970s will raise a laugh too!

Law and Disorder reviewed in The Solicitors Journal

2010-09-30T13:47:00.002+01:00

Great review of Law and Disorder in The Solicitors Journal by Martha Swann. You can read it here or see below.

Law and Disorder - Confessions of a Pupil
26 September 2010 Tim Kevan Bloomsbury

When I landed my training contract I was so enthused that I went through a stage of purchasing a library of legal books off the internet, as you do.
One of the books was BabyBarista and the Art of War. This has now been republished under the title Law and Disorder – The BabyBarista Files with a funky new cover to appeal to the masses ahead of a second book set to be published next year.
It was definitely one of my better purchases – as a trainee solicitor I quite like getting a glimpse of what life might be like in chambers as it seems much more… how shall I say this… exciting than my life behind a desk building forts out of files. I therefore cannot vouch for the book’s accuracy, but I can vouch for its humour, wit and brilliant plot.
If you’ve ever read the BabyBarista blog, formerly in The Times and now featured in The Guardian, you’ll know that it has sharply drawn characters with appropriate monikers. BusyBody and OldRuin are two examples – guess what those characters are like. They all work together (or at odds with each other) in a London chambers.
The book focuses on BabyBarista’s pupillage year and the fiercely competitive nature of the pupils as they try and learn their trade while simultaneously battling it out against each other to try and get tenancy.
This brings me to the rather obvious book review question of whether or not I would recommend this book to my friends, my colleagues and to you, dear Young Lawyer readers. I would.
I suspect I am biased as I love the blog (I even am sad enough to follow BabyBarista on Twitter) and I found the book hilarious.
When I enjoy a book I tend to read it in one fell swoop, as I did with this one. So, go and buy it. Even if you’re not familiar with the blog this is a brilliant introduction to it. I just hope you’ve got a spare moment to read it in between job applications and all that photocopying you’ve been asked to do...

Postscript:
Martha Swann is a trainee at Stone Rowe Brewer

Has The Times' paywall started leaking?

2010-09-21T08:48:00.000+01:00

Having blogged for The Times for three years, I resigned several months ago due to their introduction of a paywall. My reason was simple: less people would now be able to view my blog. I concluded that 'inside the paywall no-one can hear you scream'. Given that Rupert Murdoch apparently sees the iPad as the saviour of newspapers I was therefore fascinated to find that The Times' blogs are not even included in the content provided. I was also interested to discover today that unlike the other blogs Mary Beard's excellent A Don's Life continues to appear outside the paywall but on a Times-branded site. Is this the first leak from the paywall? You can read her blog here.

Interview on Law Actually

2010-09-10T08:44:00.000+01:00

Law Actually have just published an interview with me here.

Independent on Sunday gives ‘Law and Disorder’ four stars!

2010-08-22T14:22:00.000+01:00

The Independent on Sunday today gave Law and Disorder four stars in a book review by Inbali Iserles. To read it click here or see below:

"Litigation is like war." So BabyBarista is told on being presented with a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War during his first day in chambers. BabyB is about to find out that the battle lines are drawn not only in the courtroom but between the barristers who will be his neighbours for the next year of continual assessment. It is a lesson he is quick to learn – if fraud, philandering and a string of transgressions are to dictate which of the aspiring pupils make tenancy, BabyB plans to give as good as he gets.

Law and Disorder started life as an anonymous blog and its appeal as a novel is obvious. Tim Kevan, a former barrister himself, has a sharp eye for detail. While his cast tends toward caricature, one suspects that there is more than a kernel of truth to the pompous, sexist HeadofChambers, BabyB's conceited peer TopFirst and SlipperySlope, a solicitor "skilled in the creative art of billing".

'Law and Disorder' now available as an e-book

2010-08-17T15:30:00.000+01:00

I'm really pleased to say that Law and Disorder has now been made available as an e-book. It's available at Amazon's Kindle store and can be read not only on their own Kindle device but also for example on iPhones and iPads using the Kindle app. You can buy it here at a reduced price of £6.53.

Article at Online Journalism Blog

2010-07-14T15:51:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Paul Bradshaw for allowing me to do a guest post at the Online Journalism Blog entitled 'Why I escaped The Times' paywall'.

Law and Disorder: coming soon...

2010-07-06T15:25:00.002+01:00

Advance copies of Law and Disorder: Confessions of Pupil Barrister have just arrived. This is the mass market edition of BabyBarista and the Art of War which was described by broadcaster Jeremy Vine as "a wonderful, racing read - well-drawn, smartly plotted and laugh out loud" and by The Times as "a cross between The Talented Mr Ripley, Rumpole and Bridget Jones's Diary". It follow's BabyBarista's fight for tenancy during his first year in chambers. It is officially released on 2 August and can be pre-ordered at www.amazon.co.uk.

BabyB hits the front page of The Guardian Online (click to enlarge)

2010-07-03T02:55:00.001+01:00

BabyBarista moves to The Guardian!

2010-07-03T02:52:00.002+01:00

Well, there I was. One minute I was writing for The Times. Then along came a massive gert paywall and having managed to escape in the nick of time I then found myself headhunted by those kindly souls at The Guardian. I mean, what luck! But not only that. It was as if I was in a Carlsberg advert and The Guardian was probably the best newspaper in the world as they said, 'Come work with us, but don't worry, you can keep your own site. Be our partner friendly blogger.' Hmm, not exactly a difficult choice, particularly when their law section is now in my opinion the very best in the country which is freely available to all. So there you go. Obviously, I'd like to think I was like Tevez as he transferred across from Manchester United to Manchester City but as a humble legal blogger I don't intend to get too big for my little horse hair wig. But hey, in my dreams that's the image I've conjured and you'll just have to allow me that. In the meantime, I'm spouting some more thoughts about the paywall in a separate post and then you'll also hear what OldRuin had to say about it all in chambers tea.

So from now on I'm really delighted to say that I'll be partnering with The Guardian and it's exciting to be the pilot scheme in their new online strategy of partnering with bloggers such as myself. What this means in reality is that the main BabyBarista content will appear both at www.babybarista.com and as a blog at www.guardian.co.uk/babybarista. Meanwhile this site will keep the first six months of archives for the original blog.

BabyBarista says that the paywall will be a disaster for The Times

2010-05-30T22:53:00.003+01:00

In his most recent post, BabyBarista says that the paywall will be a disaster for the Law Section of The Times in particular and suggests that The Guardian's Law Section might be about to trump it.

BabyBarista

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Mulberry Finch review the BabyBarista series of books

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Top American Law Blog 'Above The Law' reviews 'Law and Peace'

Legal Aware review of 'Law and Disorder'

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Sponsored blog post: Understand the UK Family Law through Expert Solicitors

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RebeccasReads review of 'Law and Peace'

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Charon QC review of ‘Law and Peace’

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Book recommendation: 'The Warden' by Anthony Trollope

WardblawG review of 'Law and Peace'

New BabyBarista store!

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Article on TotallyLegal.com

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Please buy a copy of my new book 'Law and Peace'

Family Lore Blog reviews 'Law and Peace'

First review of 'Law and Peace'

Please come to my book launch! (Click to enlarge)

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Nice review of 'Law and Disorder' audiobook

CPD Webinars - CPD made easy

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Special offer on 'Law and Disorder' audiobook!

A Christmas card from BabyBarista!

'Law and Disorder' on audiobook

Coming soon: 'Law and Peace'...

Review of 'Law and Disorder' at DefrostingColdCases.Com