Steven Barrett

Did Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s talents go to waste?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Getty images)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has passed away. America has lost one of its finest lawyers. An outstanding lawyer is a gift to a nation. But RBG is one America never actually used. The same is equally true of her friend Antonin Scalia.

Two brilliant lawyers that most nations would give their right arm for. I think it is fair to highlight how little law either actually did. Both were sadly reduced by the constitution they lived under, to being mere politicians.

They both contrast sharply with how we have tried to practice law here. A month ago, I had lunch in a pub with a friend and three children. At the end the bill came. It was incorrect.

Not uncommonly for someone who fights over bills for a living, I let my non-lawyer friend take up the issue. He was told that the ‘eat out to help out’ deal could not be applied, because we had ordered in person and not via an app that neither of us had heard of.

His response was to argue, rightly in English law, that this could not apply because no one had told us this requirement in advance. He did not know it, but he was here articulating a point of contract law, that reasonable notice must be given of onerous contractual terms. A point best made by Lord Bingham in 1987.

He was about to launch into an impromptu rendition of unfair terms in consumer contracts and the role of implied terms, without even knowing it, when the restaurant admitted its mistake.

That is what lawyers have been doing when we weren’t being noticed. When we aren’t becoming known. I don’t mean to make us sound sinister, but we have been watching you for years, 800 or so.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in