What I’ve learnt in a year of law…

Today marks a year since I started back practicing law at Rennick Solicitors having quit my job as a radio presenter on Spin1038 and gone back to Dispensing Truth and Justice as my old boss Sean Barton used to so eloquently put it. There’s on odd symmetry that this day should fall on the day the leaving cert beings, 20 years after I started by Junior Cert and got the good results that would lead my guidance counsellor in 2 years time to advise that I should do Law instead of Arts or Communications. It’s been a crazy year, and since I’ve been back, this blog has racked up over 5,000 individual visitors, and has gotten lovely feedback from a really broad spectrum of people, both legal and non legal. Thanks to everyone who has visited. Here’s what’s happened in the last year: I’ve had 11 notable mentions on Broadsheet (I had 1 in six years as the breakfast presenter on Spin1038) One appearance on the Last Word with Matt Cooper Some really good fun with some unique marketing Done some infographics Been on my feet in the High Court more than I ever would have imagined Learned that timelines and deadlines mean absolutely nothing…….to barristers. Battled some lay litigants Worked from home and got more done before 12pm than I often get done in a whole day Failed to get a single document across the counter at the central office without something having to be amended Had ‘the fear’ that I had missed a statutory deadline Got really frustrated that people wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to explain why they should register a trademark Decided not to be able to get my work emails on my phone Decided to be able to get my work emails on my phone Re-Read the Law Society Civil Litigation Manual Rejoiced that the Companies Act 2014 meant I now knew as little about Company Law as everyone else again Decided to blog Decided not to blog Learned to stop shuddering at the mentioned of ‘time recording’, ‘billable hours’ and WIP reports Stopped referring to myself as ‘the law talking guy’ Stopped referring people to the case of ‘finders versus keepers’ Starting using the word Bailiwick in everyday conversation Decided to lash ‘Without Prejudice’ on everything, just in case Stopped being self conscious about dictating Did the Tradmark Agents Exams Settled some cases. Fought the good fight And so, on to year two….after the long vacation obviously.