Dominic Raab

Was apparently “a senior lawyer” according to government spokesperson Laura Kuenssberg. 

Tit makes even bigger tit of himself than tit had already titted 

I wonder if he reads rof. Tell you what, just in case - RAAB YOU THROBBING LOSER, FVCK OFF OUT OF IT

I wonder if he ever thinks he made the wrong choice? He could have been there still, slaving away as a grunt associate for a psycho partner. Instead he’s a Privy Councillor, Minister of State, and all round person of influence. 

He "left" links then did a bit of a mixed bag of roles on trade for EU and WTO and then something in The Hague, then FCO. Looks like he clocked up about 4 or 5 roles in just 6 years. He must have been brilliant at each of them and bossed them so comprehensively he moved on so frequently, to share his skill and improve so many organisations. Shocked he hasn't featured more prominently in the top 5 list thread, tbh. 

Raab's spurious claim is quite modest compared to the bucketful of steaming shite that JPMorgan poured all over their press release when they hired Chuka to head up their ESG division. I can't find the whole thing, but this excerpt is representative:

"The Change UK founder has over 20 years experience managing private and public sector ESG issues at a senior level, which includes eight years managing ESG factors (employee related issues) on M&A transactions as a solicitor."

Maybe his 3 years (according to Wiki) split between HS followed by some rando firm called Ashfords doing by employment law corporate felt like 8 years. Or perhaps in the 2 years he spent working for a PR firm between losing his seat and getting hired by JPM, he was bossing the ESG world so spectacularly that he actually acquired 20 years' worth of experience. I do wonder whether JPM even diligenced his CV, or just took a punt on him as a toofer.

"I worked with ashfords once (they were advising one of the smaller people on a deal) - they were actually quite good."

Must have been the lingering halo effect that Chuka had on them.

Legal Week article today.

The not being able to be Lord Chancellor and Deputy PM at the same time is an interesting point

and heh at 'survey respondents dubbing him a “moron” and “an arrogant idiot”'

 

 

A demotion. A big winner. A mistake. No matter how you describe it, news of Dominic Raab’s appointment to Justice Secretary has divided his crucial audience: the legal industry.

Former Linklaters lawyer Raab has replaced Robert Buckland QC as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and deputy prime minister, having previously served as foreign secretary.

Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick was upbeat about the appointment, noting that Raab’s legal background makes him a good pick for the role.

“He’s a lawyer which is good and we’ve had situations where in the past we haven’t had lawyers”, he said. By comparison, Buckland didn’t bring enough to the table as he was “old school”.

However, not everybody agrees that his legal background is sufficient.

A London Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner pointed out that Raab doesn’t hail from the expected “traditional legal background” as he was only a junior at Linklaters, but puts this down to the Ministry of Justice evolving to make the role “more politically driven” rather than primarily legal.

This is not the first time a cabinet reshuffle has divided U.K. lawyers. Suella Braverman’s attorney general appointment in February 2020 was labelled controversial, with some lawyers predicting an inevitable “collision course with the courts”.

A snap poll of about 40 senior lawyers by Law.com International found 68% strongly disapproved of the appointment and a further 24% disapproved. Only 5% approved.

“[It’s] better to have someone who knows more about legal practice, not just a brief flirtation with a City firm before pursuing his real passion, politics,” said one respondent.

They added that Raab’s reported unhapiness with the role doesn’t bode well, as the role needs somebody who “really cares about how justice is being delivered to people in this country at the moment”.

Nonetheless, global head of financial services at Norton Rose Fulbright, Jonathan Herbst, commented that “people ought to welcome him and to give him a fair and sensible go”.

A London-based partner at a U.S. firm also pointed to Raab’s lack of experience, saying that “he hasn’t shown himself to be effective in anything he’s done”, while another survey respondent said “his track record does not inspire confidence”.

Deputy PM appointment 

Chissick disagreed, and highlighted his role as deputy prime minister can also add weight to the role. But this dual role of Lord Chancellor and deputy PM is an additional point of contention.

Matrix Chambers’ Jessica Simor QC, tweeted on Wednesday: “How can you be Lord Chancellor and Deputy PM?”, nothing that Raab will need to “defend the judiciary against himself”.

A survey respondent added that “[Raab] cannot be Lord Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister at the same time”.

Despite questions around his personality – with survey respondents dubbing him a “moron” and “an arrogant idiot” – some in the U.K. legal sector say he has a real chance to improve relations between the legal sector and the government.

Indeed, the London partner at the U.S. firm says Raab has “a lot on his plate” as he’ll need to “restore faith in the legal system people have lost faith in”.

Challenges Ahead

Raab will need to tackle the legal aid budget and the COVID-induced backlog in the courts, Chissick said, while a second partner at an international firm agreed that the court system will need to be looked at.

“Regardless of his personality, his most important role is rebuilding and repairing the relationship between the government and legal community which has been damaged by the arguments of legality of the prorogation of parliament”, the Freshfields London partner added.

They continued: “It’s important for the success of the country for a post-Brexit world as we’re no longer the hub for Europe as we’d normally class ourselves. He needs to ensure we have a well-resourced expert judiciary and legal system.”

Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon, added in a statement that Raab must act urgently to address this crisis” of a justice system that is currently at “breaking point”.

Meanwhile, David Lammy MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday that the appointment demonstrates “how little this government cares about victims of crime”, pointing out that the severe lag in rape convictions is a huge concern.

But Chissick remains optimistic, commenting: “Something good is going to come of this.”

Gauke was a proper lawyer, got to around 8 PQE at Macs before becoming an MP I think.

Raab kept talking about he was a lawyer during the leadership contest. I assume given his chequered legal career he wasn't retained by Links on qualification.

Similarly Alan Mak talks endlessly about his legal career (claiming to have been a head of department at CC even though he was never a partner) but I have it on decent authority from someone who knew him at law school that he was an absolute disaster of a lawyer (and has acquired a reputation in Westminster as a toady who, despite his lick-spittle ways and self-promotion, hasn't made it Cabinet - or indeed any ministerial role (?) - despite 6 years as an MP.

but maybe someone who knows him can present a different view. 

i've worked across the table from Ashfords and have found them good and sensible. 

my impression is that training / working at a regional commercial firm arguably gives you a better legal grounding because you will do deals you actually can wrap your head around (rather than blozzing 750 CPs on a gazillion dollar pipeline deal / synthetic bond financing / something else quite esoteric) and you get to do more exposure to "general" legal work, such as landlord & tenant, supply contracts etc...

 

What has Raab got on Bodger that led him to be given deputy PM? Surely Bodger just would say you’re shit, you’re getting the shit job of justice sec, think yourself lucky. Btw the profession hates you. Bodger would be briefed that, knowing nothing himself ofc. Raab is a complete loser. 

Deputy PM is a joke title/sop to Raab’s ego for what is clearly viewed as a demotion.

Bozza’s problem (entirely of his own creation and mindset) is that dispatching a significant rival (Raab - barmily - was a serious contender in the leadership election, remember) to the back benches is very likely to give the Brexit ultras and headbangers a figurehead to coalesce around. It’s how he got the gig, after all.

He can’t bin Patel or Sunak for similar reasons, even if he wanted to (which is doubtful).

And so the shitshow continues. Meet the new talentless, brainless, corrupt clowns who’ve replaced the old talentless, brainless, corrupt clowns. 

 

Tend to agree. 

But I am not sure that’s how Bozza’s mind works. He knows he is ultimately untrustworthy and traitorous and I suspect he finds it hard to trust other people as a result. He will actively seek to keep everyone off balance.

Yep. Fvcking grim.

Tell you what though, the sun is shining here right now, quite brilliantly, and I’m going to the pub later.  Between now and then I will be doing as little work as possible. It’s the little victories that count.

It's very funny to me that Raab somehow carried the can for Biden's Afghan withdrawal and our delusions of empire. Couldn't happen to a more deserving guy, but we are a mentally damaged country. 

Raab at PMQs will be entertaining enough, though, if his performance at select committee/urgent questions over the Afghanistan debacle is anything to go by.

He’ll be even worse than Bodger.

“Regardless of his personality, his most important role is rebuilding and repairing the relationship between the government and legal community which has been damaged by the arguments of legality of the prorogation of parliament”, the Freshfields London partner added."

Is "regardless of his personality" Freshfields for "He's a cvnt, but..."?

Raab somehow carried the can for Biden's Afghan withdrawal and our delusions of empire

Um, he was foreign secretary and the UK's Afghan withdrawal wasn't a bed of roses...

I knew Alan Mak vaguely in his legal practice days. Not that there was much practicing of law going on - nice enough guy in person but all about the self-promotion and "networking" (in the worst sense of that term, with every cliche imaginable - if I remember correctly, someone told me he'd actually reached the max limit of FB friends you were allowed to have back then - several thousand). 

I think he was trying to do something with CC's public policy practice, but since the practice was basically non-existent, who knows maybe he was technically the head of it. But he certainly wasn't a partner. 

Agree with JoH about them being talentless, brainless, corrupt clowns. That's the British way now.

The Rule of Law will cease to exist by the next GE as Enabling Act 1933-type laws will be enacted from now till then.

Clown Bozo's non-Government is a reflection of his reckless, drunk elephant (one can be a clown and an elephant, like Dumbo was) style of politics.

Domi-dick Raab-bish will be one of the worst LCs/Justice Ministers. Solicitor? He is an expert in paginating, photocopying and scanning. He is Bozo's paralegal-apprentice-assistant and potty emptier/groom of the stool.