Author: Ruth Roberts

This blog is not about law; but it is about what makes a good lawyer and the things we reflect on in the grey hours before morning; and in the spaces in our day when the flotsam of our lives drifts through our minds. This is a blog about our shared humanity.

This has been a tough year for our legal community. And just this week comes news of the death of two of my colleagues, lovely people taken from us far too young. Both were fine, clever lawyers with bright minds. They argued law vigorously, advocating in the best tradition of the Bar. But as we have mourned our friends, it has not been their fine grasp of case law that has been remembered. It has been their skill and compassion. We have remembered their courtesy and gentleness in dealing with colleagues and staff, their passion for justice in the purest and truest sense of the word. We remember how their voices were loud and clear on behalf of their clients, and how they never faltered in their commitment to law, and to the oath they swore when they were called to the Bar.

Law can be a tough mistress. Criminal law can be tougher than most. We see and hear things that sometimes whisper to us in dark moments. We sit with our clients and their families, bearing witness and holding their hands as they move through some of the most difficult times in their lives; we celebrate with them when things work out. And all of this is done, as every job is, against the background of our own experiences, our own challenges.

I love my work. I love the extraordinary privilege of helping people and of working with colleagues with shared passion. We are a family in the truest and broadest sense of the word. We help each other, comfort each other, share cold drinks and tall stories. And right now, we hold each other close, and grieve, and vow to honour the memories of our colleagues. Their torch has been passed to us. We will hold it high.