Legal Profession

The court made observations about the practice to be followed by barristers and solicitors in disclosing a draft judgment in the period between their receipt of a judgment in draft form and the date on which it was handed down:

“solicitors should not disclose a draft judgment to other members of their forms or organisations save to the extent necessary for the taking of instructions in respect of the instant case. If any solicitor is in doubt as to the propriety of a particular disclosure, he or she should request permission from the judge concerned … by email to the judge’s clerk” (per Lady Justice Smith at para 15).