Briefing patterns under Tribunal scrutiny

Simba Chitando is asking the tribunal for interim relief against the advocates, to prevent them from continuing with the conduct, and to include him in the pool of junior advocates selected for shipping law briefs. The report notes the case has put the spotlight on a sensitive subject among lawyers: briefing patterns and the overwhelming dominance of white men in the shipping law arena. Chitando claims he would suffer irreparable harm and that his business would collapse if the tribunal does not grant him the interim relief he is seeking. He argued that he was qualified in maritime law and wanted to practise in the field, even though there were several other fields of law he could have access to. '...the more participants there are practising in the field, the more choice is available (for clients),' he argued. Chitando is asking for the interim order against Michael Fitzgerald SC, Russell MacWilliam SC and Michael Wragge SC and law firms while the Competition Commission is investigating the matter. Martin Brassey SC, representing the advocates, argued that Chitando had made no case showing the dominance of the silks. 'It is ultimately the attorneys or the clients who make the selection and the advocates are bound not to quarrel with that.' The report notes that two law firms - Shepstone & Wylie and Norton Rose Fulbright - also opposed the application. The firms' legal representatives argued that if Chitando were excluded from getting shipping briefs, he did not come close to showing that this conduct had led to a substantial lessening of competition. Judgment has been reserved Full Business Day report (subscription needed)