Oath-taking causes some oath-making
No silk round would be complete without some kind of cock-up, and this time it's the arrangements for taking the oath. In an unusual move, there are to be two ceremonies, which the anointed ones will have to attend on 28 March and 1 April.
Both dates fall slap bang in the middle of the Easter holidays, causing more than one barrister problems with attendance.
But if they do not attend both dates, the lawyers will not be able to call themselves QCs.
The reason for all the kerfuffle, apparently, is that the Lord Chief Justice is away on holiday on 28 March, while the Justice Secretary Jack Straw can only do 28 March and then isn't free until May.
Aware of the problem, the Crown Office is busy arranging other dates for the new QCs to be sworn in.
One senior clerk, however, said: "Obviously some stupid civil servant didn't think of coordinating matters."Get the latest news and an irreverent commentary delivered to your desktop every day by subscribing to Lawyer News Daily.
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