The Lawyer Inquiry: Frank Panford

Frank Panford was born in Ghana on 23 January 1949. He is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers.



What was your first job?

Law lecturer.



What was your first ever salary as a lawyer?

£5,000.



What would you have done if you hadn’t become a lawyer?

Something worthy, like an eye surgeon or a jazz saxophonist.



Which law could you live without?

All of the Tory law and order legislation.



What was your most embarrassing professional moment?

Getting on my feet before Mr Justice Jowitt and presuming to explain the papers and the law to him.



What car do you drive?

A Daewoo Espero.



Which famous person would you like to go out with?

It would have been Laurens van der Post but as he is no longer with us, I suppose I would to make do with Isabella Rosellini.



Where would you go to eat?

Kuala Lumpur, in the open market restaurant.



What’s the best thing on TV?

Northern Exposure - my wife put me on to it.



Which movie do you wish you’d appeared in?

The Manchurian Candidate or Ai No Corrida, if I could speak Japanese.



What’s your most often-worn piece of clothing?

A pair of khaki trousers - my wife bought them for me to cheer me up.



What book(s) are you reading at the moment?

Entering the Circle by Olga Kharitidi; Civilising Cyberspace by Steve Miller.



What is your all-time favourite record?

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.



What piece of advice would you give to anyone entering the profession now?

Take heart and screw your courage to its sticking place.



What do you like about yourself?

Probably energy and calmness under pressure, and definitely my catholic musical taste.



What do you hate about yourself?

Impatience and occasional proneness to pomposity.



Where would you most like to be right now?

Almost anywhere in Andalucia.