Charles FRANCIS AM RFD QC interview 4/11/2003

You felt in those days, there were somewhat more ethical codes of practice?

I think the standard of professional ethics was higher then than it is now. But I think that is general throughout the community. For example, the standard of medical ethics was much higher then than it is today. Probably today as regards ethics, the Bar is just about top, but the standards are not as good as they were when I came to the Bar.

When you say ‘not as good’, do you mean, not as stringent or was it simply a different ethos?

A different ethos. I think people behaved better and one of the things at that time when I came to the Bar, there were a bit over a hundred in active practice and almost everyone of them you could trust implicitly. There were only two people who couldn’t be trusted, everyone knew who they were, (otherwise) it was a very pleasant atmosphere in which to practise. That continued into the seventies and eighties.

I remember I was in America in 1975 and I was talking about the fact we could trust our opponents and they were amazed and they said to me, “It must be marvellous to practise in that sort of atmosphere”. Over there, they found very often they couldn’t trust their opponents. I think there’s less trust today for a number of reasons.

And the reasons are….?

Well, one of the reasons is when I first came to the Bar, there were 105 in active practice. They were nearly all in Selborne Chambers and when they finished in court, often they would stand in the passageway talking to each other. And you got to know virtually everyone at the Bar in a short space of time and I think that camaraderie at that time amongst a smaller group tended to lead to higher standards.

Whereas now, there is more of a climate of adversarial behaviour?

Certainly people were adversarial at that time, but they were far more collegiate than they are today.

Conducted for the Bar Oral History project by Juliette Brodsky in the Neil McPhee Room, Owen Dixon Chambers and filmed by Stewart Carter (People Pictures)