header-logo header-logo

Hamilton for lawyers #2

22 February 2018 / Richard Harrison
Issue: 7782 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail
nlj_7782_harrison

Richard Harrison returns with Ten DR Commandments inspired by the 2018 Olivier award winner Hamilton

Previously in this journal I wrote an article inspired by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s celebrated musical Hamilton. It looked at the legal career of Alexander Hamilton and some of the lessons, including mediation skills, to be learned from the negotiation of the 1790 Compromise which led to Washington DC becoming the US capital.

One of the main, and tragic, themes of the show is the culture and consequences of the duelling code prevalent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Litigation is nowadays one of the main substitutes for the duel and the elaborate code of challenge, compromise and mediation is now used to deal with legal problems. As is made clear in the song ‘Ten Duel Commandments’: ‘ Most disputes die and no one shoots ’.

And given that the song is highly catchy, I had a think about it in the context of ‘Ten DR (dispute resolution) Commandments’.

The first step in any dispute resolution procedure is to

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll