The option of solicitor advocacy came on the scene a bit too late for me.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It was an interesting experience to work alongside the solicitor general's team and then turn around and argue against them. You certainly grow as a lawyer from getting such a varied set of experiences.
The Office of the Solicitor General has a deeply ingrained fundamental institutional culture that has stood the test of time for decades. I went because I wanted to do public service and do an appellate practice at the very highest levels I could.
I hate second-guessing other lawyers because I know that I've tried and lost cases, and somebody could sit there and say, 'Should have done it this way,' and they'd have been right.
I was thrown into the Parliament right away. From 1976 to 1978 I was concerned with the abortion issue, later on with that of divorce.
I've been offered a peerage already, and turned it down.
And whether you're an honest man, or whether you're a thief, depends on whose solicitor has given me my brief.
I had thought about becoming a civil rights lawyer, but I gave it up.
No one's calling me for lawyer roles. I still have a lot to do to prove myself.
I'm a recovering lawyer. The practice of law has changed. Every agreement is a fight.
I'm a duty solicitor, so I can't fix someone's life; all I can do is fix the problem I've got in front of my eyes.