Author Archives: Charles Holloway

About Charles Holloway

Lawyer, mediator, business consultant offering mediation services through Consensum and litigation triage advice to other lawyers and their clients.

Education, education, errm…

Fresh from the mauling the Chilcot inquisitors suffered recently at the hands of Tony Blair, the former PM would doubtless wish to offer a similarly spirited and robust defence of his 1996 speech when campaigning for the return of a Government of New Labour, in which he asserted that the three main priorities for government… Read More »

Sticks and snails and shaggy dog’s tales

Ingenuity is the most remarkable human trait. Without it, we would not have discovered how to make fire, how to fashion tools and how to manufacture things useful to our everyday lives. We learned to stand on our hind legs which made life easier for our ancestors. We can also invent things which make our… Read More »

Weapons of Mass Discovery

Two matters caught my eye last weekend which I would like to share with readers of this blog. The first was the announcement that former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry on January 29th 2010. In particular, the former PM will face questions about his government’s use of intelligence which… Read More »

Motherhood and apple pie

Each of us will recognise a seminal moment in our personal and professional lives. In our personal lives these moments often relate to family: the birth of a child, a wedding or the death of a close family member or friend. In our professional lives as lawyers it may be the day you qualify, the… Read More »

Jackson: key recommendations

Key recommendations from the Review of Civil Litigation Costs Final Report of Lord Justice Jackson, published 14th January, 2010 A resumé of the key recommendations may be found on page 463 of the 584 page report [click here to view the report in PDF format]. However, here is a selection of the most important ones: Success… Read More »

Gunfight at the OK Corral

At approximately 3pm on Wednesday October 26th 1881, a gun battle took place in Tombstone, Arizona involving the legendary Earp brothers and “Doc” Holliday. The fact that the fight did not actually take place in the OK Corral did not prevent it becoming known by that name nor does it detract from its notoriety even… Read More »

The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley

Gang aft agley? The last three words of this quotation from To A Mouse by Robert Burns may be better known in the Anglicised version of “often go awry”, but the point is clear. The poem is also widely known for its first line describing the mouse as the “wee sleeket cowrin’ tim’rous beastie” but events… Read More »