Not many people get as excited by reserved legal activities as I do, but Professor Stephen Mayson surpasses even my interest in the subject. And he’s always quite happy for me to describe him as a reservation nerd, so I shall do so again.

Not long ago I sat in a roomful of lawyers and watched their faces as someone tried to explain the principles of outcomes-focused regulation. Not surprisingly, quite a few eyes glazed over and I didn’t get the impression that many of them grasped how it differed from the existing sort. I don’t blame them.

Whatever walk of legal life we come from, are we really going to sit back and take the continued abuse dished out against this profession? Are we really all so apathetic that we will simply sigh and say “oh well” when transport minister Mike Penning MP throws ‘ambulance chasers’ insults at us?

Doing a law degree was great. Not because of the law, I should say, but because the 10 or so hours a week of formal studying left lots of time for other, somewhat more fulfilling activities. It would be wrong to say I got nothing from my degree – and compared to the soul-destroying Law Society Finals it was an absolute riot – and so I have been unsure how to react to the debate about the College of Law’s new two-year law degree, following BPP’s lead.

For legal aid and personal injury lawyers it’s not so much the hope that kills (because there isn’t much of that) but the uncertainty. Both are gearing up for the potentially radical changes in their practice areas brought about by the government’s green papers on legal aid reform/cuts and on implementing much of the Jackson report respectively. It is now a little over two weeks until the consultation period on both closes (on Valentine’s Day, no less) and lobbying activity is stepping up.