he died a few days ago. A 'colourful', 'controversial' judge, even in obituaries which respect the convention of speaking no ill of the dead

But an important character in 'demystifying' the law. The reputation of the law is surely on a firmer long term basis if it is seen to be made by frail humans who can, however, admit to mistakes than if they pretend to be demi-gods above scrutiny or criticism.

Lessons there for our secret family courts.

I am perhaps the only real fan of this particular judge. I once successfully sued a solicitor for negligence.  Wretchedly, for a shared parenting blog,not over a family issue but a boring housing one*. Pickles was the judge. He saw a a Joe Citizen wronged by a prestigious professional, and conducted the case in an outrageously biassed way, but since he was on my side.....

The case was watertight anyway, but there were fruity aspects he allowed to come out, for example by a ruling that normally confidential correspondence could be revealed. One was a letter from the solicitor  to me saying that his insurance would pay if he lost, but I would have to pay personally if he won, so he would be stacking up the costs to deter me.

Now we know that tactic is used, including in the family courts where one party has legal aid and the other doesn't, but its not usual to commit it to paper, let alone have it publicly usable....

Sorry for abusing this blog for a personal anecdote, but I hope Judge Pickles  breathes some life into wherever he has now gone

*I was buying a derelict house, used by local kids as a den. You can't re-open the purchase deal after 'exchange of contract' but cannot do anything, such as boarding it up or insure the property, until 'completion'. I raised the question of further damage during this time, and the solicitor said his insurance covered it. Damage was done, and I wanted to claim. At which point the solicitor discovered that he did not have cover. He went into denial about having told me, and then became offensive. After a day in court with a barrister (who is now a QC) and all the evidence coming out, he caved in.