Hiller, Jack A.

English

ValpoScholar

Valparaiso University Law Review 
Volume 8 
Number 1 Fall 1973 pp.181-184 
Fall 1973 
Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel 
Jack A. Hiller 
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 Part of the Law Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Jack A. Hiller, Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel, 8 Val. U. L. Rev. 181 (1973). 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol8/iss1/10 
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open 
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BOOK REVIEW
BRIEF TO COUNSEL. By Henry Cecil. London: Michael Joseph
Ltd. 1972. Pp. 204. $6.00.
Many American law students have been attending summer
courses set up in England by American law schools to the delight
of the American law professors who go there to teach American law
to American law students. Also, many members of the American
Bar are still basking in Anglophilic nostalgia following their tax-
deductible vacation trips to London to attend the 1971 annual meet-
ing of the American Bar Association. All this interest in legal Eng-
land makes it appropriate to have a look at the English legal profes-
sion. Many of the readers of this Review have recently enjoyed one
excellent look at a look at that profession (at least at part of it) in
Messrs. Thomas' and Mungham's study' of the Ormrod Report.'
Brief to Counsel is another, rather different, look.
Brief to Counsel, originally published in 1958, is now in a "New
Edition," which we can take to mean a second edition. It is a very
strange second edition because the author spends a lot of time for
no apparent good reason (other than justifying his failure to rewrite
more of it) referring to the first edition. The work seems hurriedly
done and suffers for it.' But now to the substance of the book.
The English legal profession has what is called a divided bar,
composed of barristers and solicitors. A barrister's principal activity
is to argue cases, and generally he can act only on the "instructions"
of a solicitor who, with some exceptions, does not appear in court
as an advocate. The solicitor is generally considered as the barris-
ter's client; he pursues an office practice and prepares cases for trial
1. Thomas & Mungham, English Legal Education: A Commentary on the Ormrod
Report, 7 VAL. U.L. REv. 87 (1972).
2. REPoRr OF THE COMM=Trr ON LEGAL EDUCATION, CmND. No. 4595 (1971). This report
is popularly referred to as "The Ormrod Report" because the committee was under the
chairmanship of Sir Roger Ormrod.
3. For example, on page 133 a sentence reads: "One of the most important part of your
duties as a junior will be to advise as to the evidence to be called in a case." What seems to
be poor grammar is accounted for by the fact that the word "part" was added to the sentence
which, but for that change, was identical in the first edition on page 124; the author forgot
to make the other necessary changes.
Hiller: Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel
Produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 1973
182 VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW
by the barrister and presents him with a "brief' of the case when
he retains him. Thus their functions and hence their training differ
considerably.
This book was written for the advice and edification of young
men 4 who may wish to become barristers. The author is a barrister,
and we have it on no lesser authority than the Right Hon. Lord
Devlin, formerly one of Her Majesty's Lords of Appeal in Ordinary,
who wrote the forewords to both editions, that he is a wise and
experienced one. We also have it by obvious implication from the
author himself that he is a "top class advocate." It is impossible to
resist the temptation to borrow from Finley Peter Dunne's review
of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, where Dunne's literary alter
ego, Mr. Dooley, says to his foil,
"'Tis 'Th' Biography iv a Hero be Wan who Knows.' 'Tis
'Th' Darin' Exploits iv a Brave Man be an Actual Eye
Witness.' 'Tis 'Th' Account iv th' Desthruction iv Spanish
Power in th' Ant Hills,' as it fell fr'm th' lips iv Tiddy
Rosenfelt an' was took down be his own hands.5
Mr. Cecil is also an experienced author, having written twenty-
nine other books mostly anecdotal and mostly about the law. (He
reminds the reader of Brief to Counsel several times that one of
those books was made into a film.) Normally the reader comes away
from a book with an articulated or unarticulated desire to know
more about the author-perhaps to meet him. Not so here. If Mr.
Cecil's personality is at all revealed in the book, he must be a crash-
ing bore. He tries to be funny at times. Sober as a Judge' is one sad
example. In Brief to Counsel he frequently indulges in that which a
few Englishmen mistake for humor and which many Americans
mistake for English humor. Queen Victoria was probably funnier.
But what is the book about? He begins by discussing education
for the Bar. In effect he tells the would-be barrister not to bother
studying in school but to study very hard once in the practice to
make up for it.' This may be good advice, for English legal educa-
4. He does devote an afterthought, two-page, discouraging Chapter 23 to women.
5. F. DUNNE, MR. DOOLEY ON IVRYTMNG AND IVRYBODY 104 (Dover. ed. 1963).
6. H. CECIL, SOBER AS A JUDGE (1958).
7. The second edition, a bit better than the first in this respect, at least tells the student
(at page 36), "[lIt would be worth your while to work hard at the new practical and final
examinations." It is difficult to determine whether this is a warning that the examinations
[Vol. 8Valparaiso University Law Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 [1973], Art. 10
https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol8/iss1/10
BOOK REVIEW
tion, especially in the Inns of Court where future barristers are
trained, is renowned outside Britain as the worst in the world. Erwin
H. Griswold, then Dean of the Harvard Law School, said of it:
Some day I hope to understand English legal education. I
have worked hard at that for a long time, but so far it has
often seemed to me to be rather inadequate in plan and
execution, and to produce generally very excellent results.'
Two of the most useful parts of the book to one unfamiliar with
the English legal system are chapters 4, "A Chapter of Explana-
tions," and 5, "Which Branch?" Here are presented explanations of
the court system and its various branches, the difference between a
barrister and a solicitor and the structure of the Inns of Court. He
also tells what a "brief," a "dock brief," a "proof," a "lay client,"
a "devil" and many other legal and semi-legal terms mean. These
chapters alone justify reading the book merely for the insights or
understanding which they give. Later on in Chapter 21 he describes
the differences between a "junior" and a "Q.C." All barristers are
juniors unless they have "taken silk," which is a status-elevation
ceremony entitling them to be known as "Queen's Counsel" and to
wear a silk gown (the junior's is made of "stuff'). "Taking silk" has
its assets as well as its liabilities and American readers, especially
lawyers, will find this discussion most interesting. We have a
slightly similar, though less ceremonious, parallel in our legal pro-
fession-the senior partner.
Much of the book is devoted to telling the student-neophyte
how to chart his course in and out of court, from the Inns of Court
to the achievement of the status of a "top class advocate." No doubt
the author's advice is "top class," though it is unnecessarily dull
except for some intriguing passages such as these at page 99:
See that you never tell the judge what you really
think-except out of Court, if you know him well enough
to do so.
Remember that you have a duty to the Court as well as to
your client. Apart from your duty never to mislead a judge,
it may be your duty to disclose to a judge matters which are
are now more difficult or sage advice by one who should know that a thorough knowledge of
legal theory is of little use at the Bar.
8. Griswold, Graduate Study in Law, 2 J. LEGAL En. 272, 276 (1950).
1973] Hiller: Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel
Produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 1973
184 VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW
against your client's interest.
By now this reviewer's reader may share his opinion that such
a book seems calculated to discourage all but the most perversely
determined young man or woman from aspiring to membership in
the English Bar. Maybe this is just as well, for many have chosen
to study for the profession but few are "called to the Bar." Nonethe-
less the book is recommended for the American reader, especially
the lawyer, because the book, though often dull, is not heavy. It is
a light and informative inside view of a fascinating profession from
the student's bench to the judge's bench.
One final note on aesthetics. The insight that this book gives
one into the English legal profession is enhanced greatly by many
sensitive and delightful drawings by Mr. Edward Ardizzone, who
captures the spirit of the profession even better than does Mr. Cecil.
Jack A. Hiller*
* Visiting Fulbright Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
On leave from Valparaiso University School of Law.
[Vol. 8Valparaiso University Law Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 [1973], Art. 10
https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol8/iss1/10


Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso University Law Review Volume 8 Number 1 Fall 1973 pp.181-184 Fall 1973 Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel Jack A. Hiller Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr  Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Jack A. Hiller, Henry Cecil, Brief to Counsel, 8 Val. U. L. Rev. 181 (1973). Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol8/iss1/10 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Valparaiso University Law School at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Valparaiso University Law Review by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. BOOK REVIEWBRIEF TO COUNSEL. By Henry Cecil. London: Michael JosephLtd. 1972. Pp. 204. $6.00.Many American law students have been attending summercourses set up in England by American law schools to the delightof the American law professors who go there to teach American lawto American law students. Also, many members of the AmericanBar are still basking in Anglophilic nostalgia following their tax-deductible vacation trips to London to attend the 1971 annual meet-ing of the American Bar Association. All this interest in legal Eng-land makes it appropriate to have a look at the English legal profes-sion. Many of the readers of this Review have recently enjoyed oneexcellent look at a look at that profession (at least at part of it) inMessrs. Thomas' and Mungham's study' of the Ormrod Report.'Brief to Counsel is another, rather different, look.Brief to Counsel, originally published in 1958, is now in a "NewEdition," which we can take to mean a second edition. It is a verystrange second edition because the author spends a lot of time forno apparent good reason (other than justifying his failure to rewritemore of it) referring to the first edition. The work seems hurriedlydone and suffers for it.' But now to the substance of the book.The English legal profession has what is called a divided bar,composed of barristers and solicitors. A barrister's principal activityis to argue cases, and generally he can act only on the "instructions"of a solicitor who, with some exceptions, does not appear in courtas an advocate. The solicitor is generally considered as the barris-ter's client; he pursues an office practice and prepares cases for trial1. Thomas & Mungham, English Legal Education: A Commentary on the OrmrodReport, 7 VAL. U.L. REv. 87 (1972).2. REPoRr OF THE COMM=Trr ON LEGAL EDUCATION, CmND. No. 4595 (1971). This reportis popularly referred to as "The Ormrod Report" because the committee was under thechairmanship of Sir Roger Ormrod.3. For example, on page 133 a sentence reads: "One of the most important part of yourduties as a junior will be to advise as to the evidence to be called in a case." What seems tobe poor grammar is accounted for by the fact that the word "part" was added to the sentencewhich, but for that change, was identical in the first edition on page 124; the author forgotto make the other necessary changes.Hiller: Henry Cecil, Brief to CounselProduced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 1973182 VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEWby the barrister and presents him with a "brief' of the case whenhe retains him. Thus their functions and hence their training differconsiderably.This book was written for the advice and edification of youngmen 4 who may wish to become barristers. The author is a barrister,and we have it on no lesser authority than the Right Hon. LordDevlin, formerly one of Her Majesty's Lords of Appeal in Ordinary,who wrote the forewords to both editions, that he is a wise andexperienced one. We also have it by obvious implication from theauthor himself that he is a "top class advocate." It is impossible toresist the temptation to borrow from Finley Peter Dunne's reviewof Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, where Dunne's literary alterego, Mr. Dooley, says to his foil,"'Tis 'Th' Biography iv a Hero be Wan who Knows.' 'Tis'Th' Darin' Exploits iv a Brave Man be an Actual EyeWitness.' 'Tis 'Th' Account iv th' Desthruction iv SpanishPower in th' Ant Hills,' as it fell fr'm th' lips iv TiddyRosenfelt an' was took down be his own hands.5Mr. Cecil is also an experienced author, having written twenty-nine other books mostly anecdotal and mostly about the law. (Hereminds the reader of Brief to Counsel several times that one ofthose books was made into a film.) Normally the reader comes awayfrom a book with an articulated or unarticulated desire to knowmore about the author-perhaps to meet him. Not so here. If Mr.Cecil's personality is at all revealed in the book, he must be a crash-ing bore. He tries to be funny at times. Sober as a Judge' is one sadexample. In Brief to Counsel he frequently indulges in that which afew Englishmen mistake for humor and which many Americansmistake for English humor. Queen Victoria was probably funnier.But what is the book about? He begins by discussing educationfor the Bar. In effect he tells the would-be barrister not to botherstudying in school but to study very hard once in the practice tomake up for it.' This may be good advice, for English legal educa-4. He does devote an afterthought, two-page, discouraging Chapter 23 to women.5. F. DUNNE, MR. DOOLEY ON IVRYTMNG AND IVRYBODY 104 (Dover. ed. 1963).6. H. CECIL, SOBER AS A JUDGE (1958).7. The second edition, a bit better than the first in this respect, at least tells the student(at page 36), "[lIt would be worth your while to work hard at the new practical and finalexaminations." It is difficult to determine whether this is a warning that the examinations[Vol. 8Valparaiso University Law Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 [1973], Art. 10https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol8/iss1/10BOOK REVIEWtion, especially in the Inns of Court where future barristers aretrained, is renowned outside Britain as the worst in the world. ErwinH. Griswold, then Dean of the Harvard Law School, said of it:Some day I hope to understand English legal education. Ihave worked hard at that for a long time, but so far it hasoften seemed to me to be rather inadequate in plan andexecution, and to produce generally very excellent results.'Two of the most useful parts of the book to one unfamiliar withthe English legal system are chapters 4, "A Chapter of Explana-tions," and 5, "Which Branch?" Here are presented explanations ofthe court system and its various branches, the difference between abarrister and a solicitor and the structure of the Inns of Court. Healso tells what a "brief," a "dock brief," a "proof," a "lay client,"a "devil" and many other legal and semi-legal terms mean. Thesechapters alone justify reading the book merely for the insights orunderstanding which they give. Later on in Chapter 21 he describesthe differences between a "junior" and a "Q.C." All barristers arejuniors unless they have "taken silk," which is a status-elevationceremony entitling them to be known as "Queen's Counsel" and towear a silk gown (the junior's is made of "stuff'). "Taking silk" hasits assets as well as its liabilities and American readers, especiallylawyers, will find this discussion most interesting. We have aslightly similar, though less ceremonious, parallel in our legal pro-fession-the senior partner.Much of the book is devoted to telling the student-neophytehow to chart his course in and out of court, from the Inns of Courtto the achievement of the status of a "top class advocate." No doubtthe author's advice is "top class," though it is unnecessarily dullexcept for some intriguing passages such as these at page 99:See that you never tell the judge what you reallythink-except out of Court, if you know him well enoughto do so.Remember that you have a duty to the Court as well as toyour client. Apart from your duty never to mislead a judge,it may be your duty to disclose to a judge matters which areare now more difficult or sage advice by one who should know that a thorough knowledge oflegal theory is of little use at the Bar.8. Griswold, Graduate Study in Law, 2 J. LEGAL En. 272, 276 (1950).1973] Hiller: Henry Cecil, Brief to CounselProduced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 1973184 VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEWagainst your client's interest.By now this reviewer's reader may share his opinion that sucha book seems calculated to discourage all but the most perverselydetermined young man or woman from aspiring to membership inthe English Bar. Maybe this is just as well, for many have chosento study for the profession but few are "called to the Bar." Nonethe-less the book is recommended for the American reader, especiallythe lawyer, because the book, though often dull, is not heavy. It isa light and informative inside view of a fascinating profession fromthe student's bench to the judge's bench.One final note on aesthetics. The insight that this book givesone into the English legal profession is enhanced greatly by manysensitive and delightful drawings by Mr. Edward Ardizzone, whocaptures the spirit of the profession even better than does Mr. Cecil.Jack A. Hiller** Visiting Fulbright Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya.On leave from Valparaiso University School of Law.[Vol. 8Valparaiso University Law Review, Vol. 8, No. 1 [1973], Art. 10https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol8/iss1/10

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