Seeking solace in verse

Being a lawyer during the lockdown takes a bit of getting used to. There is new technology to tackle and a certain nostalgia for the life before. Added to this are the concerns that things may not go back to how they were and how much of the profession will survive. Many areas of legal services were struggling before this all happened. This book is an anthology of poems from over 50 contributors, mainly from lawyers on the reality of lockdown law.

There is a wide variety of styles from traditional to modern. The poems reflect the feelings of lawyers who are missing going to work and being with other lawyers and are now experiencing virtual courts, remote working, working from home around your family, and trying to fit everything in. The book is jointly edited by a paralegal at Irwin Mitchell and a QC. The selections are very good, well-written and readable.

I like the pastiches such as C-Fever, based on Sea Fever by John Masefield:

I must go down to the courts again to the Royal Courts on the Strand

And all I ask is a dusty wig…

There are nice touches about the experiences which we are getting used to such as,  

I wish I had a bookcase for the background of my Zoom

The poems demonstrate that we lawyers miss the strain and bustle of legal life. We miss courts and ushers,  and the fellowship of other lawyers. We even miss clients and judges. Not meeting a client face to face is a decidedly odd experience. Every dog has its day so it is said and one poem recounts a court case about a prohibited dog. I enjoyed the poem about having a hard day working remotely and many will echo the emotions expressed in the poem Criminal Defence Solicitor Blues:

It’s hard to socially distance in a room, two metres square

With three other people in it, plus police officers in pairs.

This is a unique record of these exceptional times, an excellent book and a marvellous tribute to the profession.

David Pickup is a partner at Pickup & Scott Solicitors, Aylesbury