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17 December 2021 / Peter Mansfield
Issue: 7961 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Home Alone: The birth of a lawyer

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Peter Mansfield reveals the shocking truth about a popular Christmas film

We need to talk about Kevin McCallister.

Can you remember the day you decided to become a lawyer? Or perhaps it is more accurate to say: the day you realised that you were already a lawyer. Because lawyering is something that is always within us, waiting to emerge, like a tarantula from a terrarium. All it needs is for the terrarium to break and the spider of justice is freed.

For Kevin, that moment occurred on 24 December 1990, aged eight.

Kevin’s legal epiphany is documented in the film, Home Alone. The pivotal moment in that story occurs when Kevin’s family travels to France for Christmas, accidentally leaving Kevin behind at home, alone. Well, I say ‘accidentally’. In fact, I suspect there is something Freudian going on. Perhaps Kevin was the unintended result of a night of passion and there is an unconscious rejection thing in play. Who knows? Whatever the reason, his family’s attitude towards

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Walkers—Muriel Marseille

Ashurst's Chief Risk Officer joins Walkers

Excello Law—John Osborne

Excello Law—John Osborne

Northern family lawyer John Osborne joins Excello

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

mfg Solicitors—Rebecca Rogers, Kennedy Langley & Victoria Griffiths

Trio of promotions announced at Kidderminster law firm mfg Solicitors

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The Chancery Division's long history comes to an end this autumn as it is reborn as the Business and Property Division, prompting questions over whether the shake-up is really necessary
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to show that failing to disclose regulatory issues can attract harsher consequences than the original misconduct itself
Rejecting a generous settlement can prove an expensive mistake, as two recent high-profile cases demonstrate
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