Memo to all lawyers who find themselves appearing before the master of the rolls: Sir Geoffrey Vos (pictured) is not a fan of paper.
Vos has been actively paper-free for some years, which would explain his reluctance to take hard copies of a draft order prepared by lawyers for the Judicial Appointments Commission last Thursday in a case concerning the commission’s statutory consultation process.
Adjourning for lunch, the master of the rolls informed the parties he would hand down a short judgment at 2.30pm, prompting Sir James Eadie KC, papers in his hand, to inform the bench - Vos, Lord Justice Underhill and Lady Justice Nicola Davies - that his junior had prepared a draft order to assist the court.
‘Can it be sent electronically?’ Vos asked. It could be sent electronically as well, Eadie replied, ‘but I was just going to hand it up and then tell you the changes that might be proposed if you grant permission’.
‘Would you like to see it?’ asked the clerk, as she approached the bench. ‘Well not normally,’ Vos replied, prompting chuckles in court, ‘but since it’s Sir James.’
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