On Thursday 22nd September, Enigma Solicitors’ Rory Smith attended a sporting dinner in support of the Drake Foundation, a charitable organisation that aims to “build and manage with care, sympathy and enthusiasm a charitable trust for the benefit of the people of the Plymouth City region”.
The event was hosted by BBC Radio Devon’s David Fitzgerald and featured former football speaker of the year Steve Daley and comedian and ex-Argyle player Paul Boardman.
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Enigma Solicitors’ Neil Mercer completed the Truro Half Marathon on 18th September 2011. Neil finished with a time of 1 hour 51 minutes.
The race was organized by the Truro Running Club and 50% of the profits generated are to be donated to MIND, a mental health charity in England and Wales.
Neil said: “It was a nice training run in interesting weather conditions for the upcoming Eden Project Marathon in October. I’d like to thank Simon Bowden for the training advice and motivation.”
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Before announcing its choice as the best legal film of all-time, Enigma Solicitors recaps the top twenty: 20, The Firm (1993); 19, Breaker Morant (1980); 18, Liar Liar (1997); 17, The Winslow Boy (1948); 16, A Cry in the Dark (1988); 15, Paths of Glory (1957); 14, Legal Eagles (1986); 13, Adam’s Rib (1949); 12, Victim (1961); 11, My Sister’s Keeper (2009); 10, Judgment at Nuremberg (1961); 9, The Insider (1999); 8, Let Him Have It (1991); 7, A Man for All Seasons (1966); 6, The Verdict (1982); 5, The Conspirator (2010); 4, 12 Angry Men (1957); 3, To Kill a Mockingbird (1962); and 2, Anatomy of a Murder (1959).
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Enigma Solicitors’ cashier has joined the Institute of Legal Finance and Management.
The ILFM is a non-profit organisation for education, support and promotion of excellence for specialist finance and administrative personnel in finance in law firms.
It was founded in 1978 to establish and maintain standards for all professionals working in legal accounting.
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Anatomy of a Murder (1959): Based on a novel by former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker, the film is described by the UCLA Law School as the finest pure trial movie ever made.
Opening with a trademark title sequence by Saul Bass and directed by Otto Preminger, James Stewart plays a small-town lawyer—albeit the kind of small-town lawyer that can matter-of-factly play a jazz piano duet with Duke Ellington—who defends an army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) charged with murder his wife’s (Lee Remick) alleged rapist.
The crime happened a considerable after the wife tells her husband she was raped, with the prosecuting attorney (George C. Scott) arguing that the murder was committed with deliberation and premeditation rather than in the heat of passion. Punctuating the hot-under-the-collar exchanges between Stewart and Scott is the ponderous judge (Joseph N. Welch, who represented the US army during the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, famously asking Senator Joseph McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”)
Despite being released more than 50 years ago, the film runs rings around today’s boilerplate courtroom thrillers.
The ending of the film is ambiguous. Was the defendant innocent? Did the defence attorney coach witnesses? Did the defence attorney coach his client? Was the insanity defence applicable? Was the defence attorney a plucky paragon of virtue after all, James Stewart or not? Did the prosecutor or defence attorney convince a jury to believe their presentation of events and facts, irrespective of actual guilt or innocence?
The film draws on the case of People v Durfee 62 Mich 487, 29 NW (1886) and observes legal ethics and trial strategy in an honest and modern way.
A great score by Duke Ellington, great acting, great direction and a great script—the definitive courtroom drama.
Previously: 20-16, 15-11, 10-6, 5, 4 and 3.
Next: 1.
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