Just A Minute: Paul Tweed

In the first of Irish Legal News’ Just A Minute series, Paul Tweed of Johnsons Solicitors, talks about his life in the law.

What has been your best experience as a lawyer?

Undoubtedly the moment the jury came back with a £450,000 award for BJ Eastwood in his defamation action against his former boxing protégé, Barry McGuigan. At the time the Sunday Tribune described it as “the undisputed libel championship of the world”, and they could not have been closer to the truth. This was the culmination of many months of tracking down witnesses on both sides of the Atlantic, and a five and a half week Hearing at the High Court in Belfast, against a background where everyone seemed to take the view that the odds were heavily stacked against my client. Although we both remained resolutely confident that we would win in the end, there were many sleepless nights in between…although March, 1992 seems a long time ago now.

What has been your worst experience as a lawyer?

Having to read some of the nonsense that has been written in the press about defamation law reform and “libel tourism”. While I can understand the media speaking out against anything they perceive to be a threat to their financial wellbeing, I get very frustrated that accuracy, fairness and balance appears to be as much a myth as the references to libel tourism. I find this type of reporting all the more frustrating, given that I firmly believe the biggest selling point for the print media in their ongoing battle with their online rivals, has to be grounded on accuracy and articles that are based on the truth. Our libel laws are designed to encourage such accurate reporting. Regrettably, some sections of the press just do not seem to get this fundamental point. The only comfort I can give myself in this regard is that the more complicated the law, the more work for us lawyers!

Why did you choose the law?

My mother had been a legal secretary and, given that I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do when I left school, she encouraged me towards the law. At the time I had not intended to do this for the rest of my professional life or to remain based in Northern Ireland. However, having applied in vain for jobs in exotic locations such as the Cayman and Solomon Islands, I ended up staying here, as nobody else wanted me! I then decided that the only option was to expand my own practice from Belfast to Dublin and then to London and finally to California, with a view to getting the best of all worlds.

Who or what has been the greatest professional influence in your life?

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with many great lawyers over the past four decades whose respective talent has had the effect of making me look good, many of whom are now esteemed members of the Bench. However, my mother’s influence, and determination, has always been a motivating force in the background, with this baton having been taken up by my wife, also a lawyer, in recent years.

What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in the law?

Specialise, specialise and specialise…and an additional foreign language would not do any harm either. With the profession facing competition on all fronts nowadays, I believe this it is vitally important that lawyers develop their own unique skill sets from an early stage in order to set them apart from the rest of the pack.

What would you want to be if you were not a lawyer?

I am not sure that I would have been much good at anything else, but in my teenage years I had considered journalism as an option, which is somewhat ironic given the nature of my work these days as a media lawyer. Indeed, journalists make up a significant section of my client base, both as Plaintiffs and Defendants.

How do you relax after work?

Unfortunately in my world “after work” simply does not exist. My working day has to take into account international time differences and the 24/7 nature of online media reporting. Accordingly, relaxation, and that well earned glass of wine, normally only becomes a reality on Saturday evening after the Sundays have gone to print. However, I always try to make time for an early morning workout in the gym or a swim in order to clear the head.

What is your favourite holiday destination and why?

Any beach in the world during a week long strike by all media outlets, although I would probably start fretting as to where my next case was likely to come from! In recent times I have managed to combine work with pleasure in LA and other parts of the West Coast, which gets me the best of both worlds, depending on how quickly I can recover from the jet lag!