No one likes a gloating lawyer – including lawyers, it appears. Christopher Clayton, a commercial litigation solicitor at Freeths in Nottingham, observed that, if Twitter is to be believed, lawyers only ever win cases.
In a bid to introduce a little realism, Clayton tweeted: ‘We lost an application to restrain a winding up petition today despite there being a dispute. The judge simply wasn’t agreeing with our side – which goes to show that litigation is unpredictable, even where your case is strong.’
Clayton was widely praised for his tweet. Adam Creme, head of legal services at Unison, said: ‘I have lost so many that I am convinced were slam dunks. Honest.’
Senior dispute lawyer Sheila Webster, a partner at Davidson Chalmers Stewart, pointed out that ‘if no one had an alternative view there wouldn’t be a dispute’.
However, our favourite reply came from 42 Bedford Row barrister Rachel Chan, who said: ‘I never lose. I just come, ahem, a respectable second. Have you heard: “First the worst, second the best?”’
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