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10 July 2008 / Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC
Issue: 7329 / Categories: Opinion
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Playing the Pied Piper

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Geoffrey Bindman heads to Uttoxeter in search of some rats

Uttoxeter. This was the small market town in Staffordshire to which I made my first journey on behalf of the firm. Rather a disappointment: I expected a Roman fort but there was no sign of its early history.

Fresh out of university, I had taken my first step in the legal profession by becoming an articled clerk in Chancery Lane. I had two law degrees but little idea what lawyers actually did all day in their offices. Students don't have clients and the cases they study are invented or long concluded.

I had read law at university by default. At school I'd enjoyed the classical languages and history but I couldn't see how they could lead to a satisfying career. The cut and thrust of the law courts had a certain glamour, and with some family encouragement, I settled for that.

When it came to choosing between the Bar and the solicitors' branch, I chose the former. I joined Gray's Inn and

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