Book reviews

The Naked Lawyer: RIP to XXX

How to Brand, Market and Sell YOU!

Chrissie Lightfoot

PUBLISHER: ARK GROUP
ISBN: 9871907787300
PRICE: £96

Do you judge a book by the cover? Does sex sell?

Chrissie Lightfoot clearly thinks so. In addition to the clearly non-mainstream legal title (complete with capitals and an exclamation mark), the cover features a colour photo of an attractive 40-something lady. A page or two inside, the same A40SL is featured lying on a bed displaying rather more cleavage than might be thought appropriate in certain legal circles. That, in fact is the About the Author section where she signs herself off as "The Entrepreneur Lawyer (of the naked kind)".

OK, Chrissie, you have reckoned your target market is the older, the staider and the more fuddy duddy. You have our initial notice. A little shock tactic never goes wrong. Shout and we’ll hear you.

But it ain’t confined to the intro. “Lawyers need to become more entrepreneurial [who could disagree] and get naked [we are not told why].” Some chapters further on we are told that “rainmaking is like sex”, and “rainmakers have better sex.” At least she has the good grace to warn us early that her idiosyncratic style “may or may not be to your taste”.

But strip away the nonsense – oh Lord, I’m making awful sexual innuendoes just like Chrissie – and there is a really good book here. Read for yourself her interesting and broad background before entering the law, her direct and accurate assessment of life in a typical law firm, and her highly entrepreneurial way forward. When she speaks without sexual metaphor, we all have to listen. “Lawyers are useless at looking after clients’ real needs and expectations.” Disagree with that at your peril. Is your client one who is ”whacked with an expensive bill for a piece of work [they] didn’t understand for the privilege of not being communicated with very often throughout the process?”

Read the bibliography to this work before you even think of challenging it. This lady has done her homework in both academic and practical areas. She has moved on to an area of legal business that few have ventured into. If you are waiting to return to the good old days of 2006, read p 19: “The profession is not going to return to the halcyon days when clients simply walked through the door, where value work and margins were plentiful, ensuring salaries and bonuses were constantly plump.”

There is so much good stuff in this book that you would be a fool not to read it and its (undoubtedly to follow) sequels. Great work, Chrissie, but please choose a less tiresome leitmotif next time.

Annotated Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995

Robert Shiels and others

PUBLISHER: W GREEN
ISBN: 9780414018419
PRICE: £90

Once again the learned authors of this annual annotated statute have produced a clear, concise and invaluable book which should be in the hands of every criminal practitioner. The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 has brought about significant changes in practice such as a putting disclosure on a statutory footing as well as defence . in addition there have been three other significant piece of legislation which are considered including the post Cadder Criminal Procedure (Legal Assistance, Detention and Appeals) (Scotland) Act 2010. Greens have made life even easier and the work more accessible by including a CD of forms. A must.