Another settlement

Hi everyone,

It became yet another late night! For a good reason though: I meant to leave the office about 7:30pm, but decided to do just one more job. And then to look at another newish file where the insurer‘s documents have just landed on my desk ... and I just couldn‘t look away: the more I read, the more cracks I could see the plaintiff‘s claim. Pretty soon I was emailing my secretary a bunch of requests for subpoenae and a notice to admit and medical exams and so on. And before you know it, it was 10:30pm!

The day was otherwise good. There was a hearing in the morning which settled by lunch because the plaintiff wanted to play hardball. Less encouragingly, my diary for the next fortnight is devoid of hearings, which means it‘s also devoid of ready opportunities to prepare bills. However, a few other settlements can still be made to happen with a little nudging.

I had a quick look at the news online after work and discovered that this year has been designated the National Year of Reading. There‘s a whole bunch of things like celebrity endorsements and adult literacy campaigns and online bookclubs and the like.  It seems churlish to doubt something so genuinely public spirited, but it was hard not to think it was a bit of a case of preaching to the choir. That is, the people who would notice and care about it are the ones who need it least. The people who read a lot and read to their kids will do so anyway, regardless of encouragement from a celebrity of the stature of the Mayor of Lower Bullamakanka. And to be honest, I‘m not sure that for a big whack of the population the problem is literacy so much as energy: in my past life as a plaintiff lawyer I acted for a lot of people who I know were literate enough to read the Herald Sun in the waiting room, but who I knew would also not read the 2 page plain-English letter I‘d send them telling them what I thought of their case.

Ok, bedtime. Tonights photos were mostly taken while waiting for a tram. One is my office building at night, and a few other buildings, and also the pleasant surprise I had waiting when I got here.

See you tomorrow people!