Zoom pic law

They should team up to go viral again


Two lawyers have unwittingly become internet sensations thanks to their Zoom calls going viral.

A former TLT solicitor, Aled Brewerton, has been revealed as one of the councillors attending the infamous Handforth Parish Council meeting. Clips from the chaotic Zoom session did the rounds on social media this week, making an instant celebrity of Jackie Weaver, the clerk attempting to keep a handle on her charges.

During the fractious call, Weaver and chair Brian Tolver became embroiled in a heated discussion in which Weaver threatened to remove Tolver, who responded: "You have no authority here Jackie Weaver, no authority at all." The phrase quickly launched a thousand memes. 

Weaver duly kicked Tolver out of the virtual meeting and tried to appoint a new chair. But vice-chair Aled Brewerton barked at Weaver, "I take charge! Read the standing orders. Read them and understand them!" It may wear thin after it's parroted back to Brewerton at every future meeting he attends, for the rest of his life, but it may not.

Given that he is a stickler for the rules, it's unsurprising that Brewerton turned out to be a lawyer. A LinkedIn profile under his name states that Brewerton is an "experienced solicitor with a demonstrated history of working in the legal services industry", including a stint at TLT:

Aled LinkedIn

"Mr Brewerton was briefly employed by TLT in 2016," a TLT spokeswoman confirmed to RollOnFriday. "As he is not a current employee, we have no authority here to comment further," she added (see, it's too difficult to resist).

Brewerton did not respond to a request for comment.

The highlights of the meeting can be viewed here (but surely you've already seen it):


Also this week, in a perfect demonstration of a lawyer embracing technology, an advocate accidentally appeared as a cat on a Zoom hearing before a judge and was unable to change the filter.

"I believe you have a filter turned on in the video settings," the judge told Rod Ponton, a Texas lawyer.

"I don't know how to remove it," replied Ponton, as his filter of an animated cat's face replicated his panic.

"I'm prepared to go forward with it. I'm here live, I'm not a cat," the lawyer clarified, albeit while resembling a kitty pleading for chicken dreamies. 

Ponton explained to the Today programme that the mistake occurred because he used his secretary's computer for the Zoom hearing. The lawyer said that everything was fine until the judge called the case, when his image suddenly disappeared from the screen and was replaced by a cat.

"Everyone who has seen the video can understand my consternation at what was going on, because I'm a lawyer trying to present a case to the court," Ponton said, confirming once again that he wasn't a feline. 

Ponton finally managed to switch off the filter, but it was far, far too late to save him from fame.



"Anyone who has ever struggled with a computer or Zoom, can recognise that those sorts of things can happen" said Ponton. It could have been much worse

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Comments

Anonymous 12 February 21 12:07

Aled Brewerton comes across as being completely unhinged. He'd probably fit in very well as a practising solicitor at a lot of firms!

Not a TLT person 12 February 21 12:55

“”Mr Brewerton was briefly employed by TLT in 2016," a TLT spokeswoman confirmed to RollOnFriday. "As he is not a current employee, we have no authority here to comment further," she added (see, it's too difficult to resist).”

*Chortle*

Anonymous 12 February 21 17:43

The kitten attorney is my favourite clip of lockdown - don't think anything will beat it. 

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