Day 4

Many of the hearings here don't go on, and the caseload is generally low. The courts are really 'suffering' from the effects of the CPR Amendments in 1999, which basically killed litigation to little more than a trickle. But the upside of that is that the quality of litigation is probably higher, so are the quality of judgments. And we get more time to chat with the Masters and ask them all sorts of questions, so that's alright.

One of the Masters I sat in with was bemoaning the state of IT illiteracy in their courts today. The Masters present a whole spectrum in terms of IT literacy. Some stick stubbornly to paper for EVERY thing; getting them to check emails is an impossible task. Others are fighting a futile battle in trying to implement more IT initiatives generally. So a conversation went something like this today -

Master A: Master B! Did you know that Singapore has all their pleadings in electronic form? They have everything in the computer screen!

Master B: Well yes, but that's because they do things properly! We can't jolly well do the same!

Lunch has been in the dining hall at Inner Temple every day thus far. Most of the Masters dine there daily, and we end up tagging along with them. It's quite interesting though to see the Masters in a more relaxed mood, engaging in silly banter amongst themselves. Here's a picture of the dining hall, very Harry Potter-ish, as Denise described. :)



Here's some interesting trivia about the Hall.



After hearings, D and I hit Oxford St and Bond St to do a bit of shopping. First stop - to buy YJ's bag. Mission accomplished - picture enclosed as evidence.



We ended up near Picadilly, where we stumbled upon a Laduree shop! Didn't even know they were there! Bonus!




*chomp chomp chomp*



Dinner was at a gastropub near Covent Garden. Food was interesting, but not great.

Finally managed to find the cats to take pictures of them!

This is Zeus, the friendly one.



And this is a very sleepy and elusive Hera. Very soft and cute, but never around!



Weather: Cold and drizzly. High of 16 degrees today.