Sixth form work experience placement at Enigma

Fiona (right) after successfully running the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2 hours 23 minutes.

Enigma Solicitors recently gave a week’s work experience to Fiona Lamond, 16, who is in the Sixth Form at Devonport High School for Girls and would one day like to be a litigation solicitor or a barrister.

Fiona wrote to 107 people at 45 local firms. 80% of those firms did not respond and those which did were unable to help.Enigma arranged a work experience placement for Fiona —  she attended a Case Management Conference at Court, attended client interviews and generally assisted around the office.

Fiona said, “My work experience with Enigma was different from what I had expected. I was made to feel welcome, learned about real work and did not have to make endless teas and coffees.”

Enigma partner Neil Mercer added, “Enigma as a firm like and try to help determined and ambitious people. Fiona’s tenacity is demonstrated by the fact that she ran the Plymouth Half Marathon at the age of 16. She should go far.”

Fiona has since gone on to gain employment as a part-time admin clerk at Enigma.

Enigma presents the top-twenty legal films of all-time: number 1 — My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Enigma Solicitors concludes its look at the top-20 legal films of all time with My Cousin Vinny.

Bill Gambini (The Karate Kid) and Stan Rockenstein (Friends) are driving through Alabama en route to California from New York. After stopping for supplies at a grocer they are soon wrongly arrested for robbery and murder. With the evidence against them seemingly damning—three witnesses have made positive identifications of the boys as the left the store in a 1964 Buick Skylark after gun shots were heard—they face a probable death sentence. With no money to pay for a lawyer, they turn to Bill’s cousin Vinny, who took six attempts to pass the Bar exams and has only been qualified for six weeks and is yet to conduct a trial.

Vinny (Joe Pesci, Goodfellas) travels from Brooklyn to Alabama with his fiancée Mona Lisa (Marisa Tomei, who won an Oscar for this role). Much of the humour is of the fish-out-of-water variety, with the big city dwellers adjusting to life in a close-knit rural small town in Alabama. Unlike many Hollywood films, My Cousin Vinny doesn’t resort to easy jokes about stereotypes of the South (see Rich Hall’s BBC Four documentary “Dirty South, or, How Hollywood Doesn’t Get the South” for more on this): the Judge (The Munsters’ Fred Gwynne in his final film appearance) isn’t corrupt; the prosecutor (Lane Smith, The New Adventures of Superman) isn’t trying to cover up a conspiracy theory; and the sheriff (Bruce McGill, The Insider) isn’t a simpleton. No, all of them are portrayed as competent and decent. Likewise, the locals aren’t hate-filled bigots. The only swipe at the South—“The Klan’s here. They’re inbred. They sleep with their sisters.”—serves to show the misconceptions and lazy sense of superiority of one of the urbanites.

The film is generally viewed as portraying legal procedures more accurately than most films and TV series, and is often considered a must-see film for law students. Alberto Bernabe of the John Marshall Law School notes the film’s representation of “criminal procedure, courtroom decorum, professional responsibility, unethical behavior, the role of the judge in a trial, efficient cross-examination, the role of expert witnesses and effective trial advocacy”. For example, the establishment of an expert witness’ credentials is shown as this and Vinny’s inexperience about the rules concerning disclosure is dealt withshown as:

Mona Lisa: You stole his files?
Vinny:  I didn’t steal his files.  Listen to this.  I’m just ready to finesse him.  I’m starting to finesse him.  I got him goin’.  He offers to have his secretary copy everything for me.
Mona Lisa: Terrific.  You’re a hell of a bonder.
Vinny:  What’s this?  You readin’ this book [on procedure]?
Mona Lisa: Yeah.
Vinny:  Do me a favor.  Okay?  Don’t read this book.  Okay?  Thank you very much.
Mona Lisa: Alright. Don’t you wanna know why Trotter gave you his files?
Vinny:  I told you why already.
Mona Lisa: He has to, by law. You’re entitled. It’s called disclosure! He has to show you everything, otherwise it could be a mistrial. He has to give you a list of all his witnesses, you can talk to all his witnesses, and he’s not allowed any surprises.
Vinny:  [Stare]
Mona Lisa: They didn’t teach you that in law school either?

The courtroom scenes are among the wittiest in the film (see here or here) and also combines tension and humour skillfully.

A legal film that’s charming, funny and informative, with great performance all round and many memorable lines.

Images from Enigma’s new photo gallery: 50 Blood Donations Badge

Enigma Solicitors has added to the conference room eight photographs printed on aluminium plates taken by Peter Russell and the partners.

Neil Mercer, one of Enigma’s partners, has been donating blood since 2005 and last year donated his 50^th platelet unit. The photograph shows the enamel badge that the National Blood Service send out to mark milestone donations and to thank donors for their commitment to saving lives.

Neil Mercer said: “Giving blood and blood components such as platelets is a way in which the healthy can assist the sick. The inconvenience is far outweighed by the benefit. It is a genuine pleasure to make such a contribution to others.”

Images from Enigma’s new photo gallery: Tin Pouring

Enigma has added to the conference room eight photographs printed on aluminium plates taken by Peter Russell and the partners.

 One of the photographs is of tin being cast into ingots.

Neil Mercer said: “The first people to smelt metal from rock were often regarded as alchemists. The stanniferous regions of Devon and Cornwall still yield tin ore which can be smelted. The resulting tin is very beautiful and precious.”

Images from Enigma’s new photo gallery: Alan Turing’s note

Enigma has added to the conference room eight photographs printed on aluminium plates taken by Peter Russell and the partners.

One of the photographs is of a postcard written by mathematician and cryptanalyst Alan Turing shortly before he took his own life.

Neil Mercer, one of Enigma’s partners, said, “The postcard is evidence that Turing continued to wrestle with metaphysical questions until his death and shows that his astonishing mind was still generating revolutionary new concepts. Alan Turing’s logic and clarity of thought remains unique.”

Images from Enigma’s new photo gallery: Running

Enigma has added to the conference room eight photographs printed on aluminium plates taken by Peter Russell and the partners.

One of the photographs is of Enigma’s Neil Mercer during a run around Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor.

Neil Mercer said: “Solo running long-distance is freedom. Your opponent is only yourself and your own physiological and psychological limits.  I enjoy competing against myself.”

Enigma Solicitors continues to expand

Enigma Solicitors continues to grow.  As part of that expansion Aimee Tunnell joined the firm recently as personal assistant to Neil Mercer.

Aimee has previously worked at other local firms.  Neil Mercer said, “I am delighted that Aimee has come to work with me.  As the firm continues to develop, and I conduct larger and larger cases, the support that she offers is vital.  As Enigma continues to grow our main problem remains the recruitment of qualified staff and we are always interested in hearing from people at any level who think that they share the values of this firm and want to work here.”

Aimee said, “I am used to working in legal practices. Enigma is more relaxed and less formal than a lot of other firms but the increasing amount of work coming to the firm is certainly keeping me busy.”