“Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere..”
Paul Revere’s ride, as retold in Longfellow’s poem, together with the Boston Tea Party are two of the iconic events leading up to the American War of Independence. On April 18th 1775, Paul Revere set off to ride to Lexington, Massachusetts to warn of the approach of British troops intent on the arrest of Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Sixteen months earlier, in December 1773, the destruction of tea at Boston harbour became a turning point in the struggle for independence of the United States from Britain. Known subsequently as the Boston Tea Party, a group of men had boarded three ships carrying taxed tea to Britain and destroyed the tea by throwing it into the harbour.
These days the Tea Party has other connotations but my reasons for being in Boston this week are professional rather than political.
The Litigation Counsel of America, “is an invitation only trial lawyer honorary society established to reflect the new face of the American bar”. With membership limited to 3,500 Fellows, the society seeks to recognise deserving, experienced and highly qualified American litigation and trial counsel across the whole spectrum of the US bar.
It is with considerable pleasure that I have been able to accept an invitation to attend their forthcoming conference in Boston MA from October 12th to 14th at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
It will be a very special opportunity to meet, socialise with and learn from some of the most eminent litigation lawyers in America. I look forward to sharing experiences and ideas and enjoying the occasional Clambake.
More next week on my return, unless the visiting Brit is tipped into the harbor….