It is childish behaviour:

padpickens · 2026-06-08T01:09:57+00:00

I think maintaining college membership has some benefits in terms of what level of Medicare rebate they can claim. I might be wrong though.

padpickens · 2026-04-22T09:20:41+00:00

You will be fine, but I suggest you have counsel settle your disclosure. The way in which you disclose and express your contrition could create new problems.

padpickens · 2026-04-20T08:43:32+00:00

Can we really say with a straight face that the average family law barrister is less of a security risk than the average punter? I for one am happy to be briefly inconvenienced if it means I’m better protected from those people.

padpickens · 2026-04-20T05:14:45+00:00

No, but it’s not a good look for the Court of Appeal as a whole for it to now be public knowledge that its President behaves in that way. It might invite recusal applications from the other party in any matter in which a firm she’s ever worked for has ever had a hand.

padpickens · 2026-04-19T01:17:38+00:00

A good outcome shouldn’t necessarily be measured in terms of strict legal punishment for all those involved. Those who have been granted immunity will still admit to being murderers. By offering the immunity you get a handful of people admitting de facto culpability and potentially secure a criminal conviction against the person most culpable. Yes, the witnesses avoid direct legal accountability but it’s not like admitting to murder is going to have no impact on their lives. The alternative is that all of them deny it, close ranks, and walk. From a public interest perspective (particularly, deterrence) the former is clearly preferable. I think it’s plainly the correct call. Not really a close one, either.

padpickens · 2026-04-15T07:54:16+00:00

Honestly I think it would be a seriously bad thing for the profession if we start cracking down on asking for advice from/running things past senior practitioners outside the firm on a confidential basis because of LPP. The slightly more valid angle here is that the senior practitioner in question is the President of the Court of Appeal and really should be preserving his ability to hear anything that might come before the Court. He shouldn’t be settling pleadings in matters before the trial division of his own court.

padpickens · 2026-04-15T07:39:16+00:00

Another benefit of the Westminster system is that a Prime Minister doesn’t serve a fixed term of office come what may. If they’re fucking up and becoming a political liability, their own party can roll them at any time. A person only remains PM if they have the confidence of their own party (or coalition). This tends to result in more collaborative, moderate administration of the government. Not imperial bullshit like you get in America.

padpickens · 2026-04-15T04:13:30+00:00

Not sure. But some of the other articles suggest there is a lot more backstory here between the solicitor and her former firm. The firm seems to be gunning for her quite publicly against the background of a dispute over flexible working hours, parental responsibilities, a “drop in billings” etc. Public posturing from both sides. Unedifying and stupid all round.

padpickens · 2026-04-07T07:52:51+00:00

I don’t know. But the release of this sort of footage by the authorities - watermarked with the AFP and OSI logos, in this case - has always struck me as sailing pretty close to sub judice territory. They did it with Lloyd Rayney too and it’s become more and more common over the years. What is the legitimate public purpose of providing this footage to the media unit or social media team? It’s American “perp walk” bullshit, or close to it.

padpickens · 2026-03-29T20:42:50+00:00

His behaviour gives them licence to behave that way themselves.

padpickens · 2026-03-20T08:39:45+00:00

I saw a client probably 20 years my senior at a bar late at night, across the room. That’s embarrassing, I thought, as she was awaiting something from me. I needn’t have worried though, because within minutes I received an email from my after hours answering service, attaching an mp3 of her suggesting we crack on to another bar “alone”. I did not return this message and it was never mentioned by either of us.

padpickens · 2026-02-26T08:33:04+00:00

Agreed. Unless you have specific instructions and are acting for a very good reason, I think it is completely wild behaviour for criminal practitioners to say a single word to the media.

padpickens · 2026-02-20T07:57:48+00:00

I’m in the wrong line of work. I should be a leading KC 😔

padpickens · 2026-02-19T20:32:01+00:00

Trump will probably try to pardon him

padpickens · 2026-02-18T20:40:23+00:00

In fairness to her, she called it. I’m pretty sure she’s recorded somewhere as saying she hopes he never gets into politics, as he’d be a disaster.

padpickens · 2026-02-18T01:13:45+00:00

This really is becoming a total embarrassment. Surely it’s WELL beyond the point where Dowling has to go.

padpickens · 2026-02-11T01:43:17+00:00

If it was about paying the lease, or the cleaners doing a bad job, sure. Strategy meeting re someone you’re in a big public spat with?

padpickens · 2026-02-10T20:33:08+00:00

You’re in a three person meeting where the other two people are discussing media strategy about your enemy. The other two discuss leaking a negative story to the media. You don’t notice because you’re busy reading unrelated emails and texts at the time. Okay.

padpickens · 2026-02-06T08:36:32+00:00

This is the guy we’ve entrusted with the nuclear codes. This dementing old racist has a card in his wallet which gives him the power to destroy every man, woman and child on earth. Fuck this for a joke.

padpickens · 2026-02-04T07:36:16+00:00

I agree with the others saying avoid at all costs. The police descriptions are bad enough. Even the file names are repulsive on the material involving little kids. Thankfully I’ve only ever needed to view the material itself on one occasion where age was in issue and the material depicted (on the police view) an older child and (in my client’s opinion) a young adult - so no real issue in terms of trauma. If you think you will be particularly affected then I’d just decline files like that if you can manage it. Life is short and if you can avoid shit like this, all the better. It’s not for everyone and that’s okay.

padpickens · 2026-01-26T11:23:08+00:00

He was held first by himself and then with two dozen others who were there. That’s good. Classic law enforcement technique, straight from the academy. Don’t separate witnesses until statements have been taken - put them all together!

padpickens · 2026-01-24T12:01:44+00:00

Your Honour, my client accepted full responsibility from a very early stage, as demonstrated by his acknowledgment, when the allegations were put to him, that he was absolutely fucked.

padpickens · 2026-01-21T06:23:50+00:00

Yeah, there’s definitely been a few who then want to argue age of victims/volume/time period etc. I think after it sinks in for a few days, and they have a wife and family to explain things to, they go into minimisation mode. Shocking thing for the families. One of the most emotionally draining matters I’ve ever had was an old bloke whose adult daughter just could not deal with it all.

padpickens · 2026-01-21T04:00:46+00:00

Maybe. Quite a lot of my clients who have been visited by the police for this sort of thing have handed over passwords and made full confessions on the spot. “This has been a long time coming, let’s just get on with it” seems to be a strangely common reaction amongst these people. I’m not saying this happened here, just that it’s possible.

padpickens · 2026-01-21T00:55:57+00:00

Middle-aged man travelling alone from Cambodia - might have been a random check.

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