Who's your master?

It's Friday Sessions Court again...
Today, I went with not much stress thinking it's just a straight forward application to cease to act as the Plaintiff's solicitors.

But as I told the court we have served the Order to cease as solicitors to our previous client, the Plaintiff, and also appearing as the stand-in counsel for the Defendants' solicitors...
the judge asked, "has P be informed of today's date?"
... ... ... [me busy flipping the files]
"yes your honor, we have informed them of today's date in our cover letter serving the Order to them"

judge: "the P is absent today?"

"yes, your honor"

judge: "you are stand in counsel for D?"

"yes, your honor"

[judge look at me... expecting me to say something... but I was too stupid to pick up her hint]

Then a learned counsel who was sitting beside me whispered "apply to strike out the case..."

[oh... then only I got it!]

"your honor, I should ask to strike out the case?" [stupid question!]

"but your honor, I have not been instructed to do so by the D's counsel..."

judge, "I'll stand down your case, you go get your instructions"

The kind gentleman beside me whispered again, "you are lucky the judge didn't screw you up for not getting proper instructions before coming to the court... who's your Master?"

[yikes, how am I to answer that question?]

Truth is, my Master does convenyancing, and I am properly trained as a conveyancing lawyer and have been assigned with only conveyancing cases since started practice. Although I was frequently sent to the court for mentions and hearings, I never have the heart to learn all those "long and winding" civil court rules (I flunked my CLP civil paper once, for crying out loud!), sigh! So to tell people who is my master would not do justice to her. So I just replied, "oh, I'm actually a conveyancing lawyer"... [which is what I have been telling everyone since the very start of my frequent (even more frequent than many full time litigation lawyers) court attendances*]

"I'm also a conveyancing lawyer, you should know things like this..."

Today... I am so MALU!

 

 

*Some learned friends even joked that I'm just in denial of the fact that I'm in fact a litigation lawyer by telling people I'm a conveyancing lawyer! sigh!