MJBQC: A Life Within and Without the Law

by Michael Beloff KC

Overview

Michael Beloff QC is one of the outstanding lawyers of his generation. In this insightful and intimate book, he brings the reader on a journey through a career of highlights. These include his election as head of the Bar Associations (administrative law and sports law) and his presidency of Trinity College, Oxford. His judicial roles included appointments at the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey. He arbitrated at five summer Olympics and chaired the ethics and disciplinary bodes in two major international sports, cricket and athletics. Such a stellar career can't help but result in a fascinating memoir.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509961412
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/21/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

The Hon Michael Beloff KC is a barrister at Blackstone Chambers, a former President of Trinity College Oxford. He is Treasurer of Gray's Inn and Senior Ordinary Appeal Judge of the Channel Islands Courts of Appeals. He is also a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He has also served as an Olympic arbitrator on five separate occasions.

'Michael Beloff QC is in the small pantheon of great civil barristers of the last half century'
The Times

'The law according to W.S. Gilberts Lord Chancellor is “the true embodiment or everything that's excellent'” and, by common consent, Michael Beloff QC has been one of the prime exemplars of that excellence over the past fifty years'
The Spectator

'Michael Beloff KC is generally regarded as the legal giant of his generation. There are no historical or contemporary barristers who have come close to sitting at the top of the advocacy tree for so long and so successfully'
Times Literary Supplement

Table of Contents

1. Roots and Branches
2. Early Days to Eton
3. Oxford Blueless
4. An Utter Barrister
5. The Silk Road
6. Transition to Trinity
7. Second Time Round the Track
8. Politics and the Law
9. Good Names and Bad
10. My Sporting Life
11. Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged
12. Odds and Sods
13. Life at the Bar
14. The Art of Advocacy
15. Change or Decay?

Editorial Reviews

The life of the leading silk Michael Beloff is crammed with big names and cases … Beloff emerges as a genuinely likeable narrator, far removed from the stereotype of the pompous silk.” —Thomas Grant, The Times

“This is easily the most illuminating, perceptive and witty memoir to emerge in recent times.” —The Commonwealth Lawyer

“His clients ranged from the Moors murderer Ian Brady, the Founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard, Mohamed Al-Fayed, numerous foreign governments and UK government departments, to a stellar line up of athletes such as Sebastian Coe, John Conteh and Tessa Sanderson … This is no dry as dust legal memoir … his pages sparkle with humour … his chapters on Life at the Bar and The Art of Advocacy are a must read for any aspiring barrister.” —Jonathan Aitken, The OEA Review

“Beloff's wit and personality shine through every page of this memoir.” —Joshua Rozenburg

“The book gives an impression of a convivial and loyal friend … this is an interesting biography of a leading member of the bar.” —David Pickup, The Law Society Gazette

“Michael's writing stye is superb, original and very funny … the book serves as an excellent guide to legal developments … this extraordinary man spans so much in this extraordinary period.” —John Bowers QC, Counsel

“A colourful, breakneck tour through Beloff's interactions with a huge number of leading sportspeople… Highly recommended.” —Ed Warner (former chairman of UK Athletics), Sport Inc

“The unparalleled breadth of Michael's practice “within” the Bar and his many roles “without” the Bar means that this book is not simply an informative and engaging description of the legal world between 1965 and 2022, but it also throws a fascinating light on many other aspects of life in the United Kingdom in that period.” —Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury (former President of the Supreme Court and Master of the Rolls)

“The story of MJBQC is a fascinating one, in particular because ... it confirms what I was told when I was a pupil, that Michael Beloff is both of the establishment and against the establishment.” —Lord Justice Singh

“This memoir is worth a read, especially if you knew or came across Michael in your own careers, or if you want to see how it used to be: you will, I am sure, be left with the impression of an extraordinarily talented, versatile and very likeable man. In my case, I wish I had known him better and instructed him more often.” —Colin Passmore, City Solicitor Magazine

“MJBQC … is a riot of anecdotes and stories that takes in an extraordinary cast of friends and acquaintances. Beloff, it is fair to say, has seen them all.” —Off the Pitch

From the Publisher