‘The Black Books are the minutes from the meetings of the Inn’s Council, which date back to 1422. They are so called because they are bound in black leather.’ https://lnkd.in/ey32RKB6

I am a member of Lincoln’s Inn, which is where I was called to the Bar. So, for me personally, this is a great honour that was unimaginable when I was a 2nd 6 month pupil, in what is now Maitland Chambers.

After completing pupillage I re-qualified as a solicitor.

Upon passing what in those days were known as the ‘Law Society Finals’ (of which I was required to pass half the course – including the ‘Accounts’ and ‘Tax’ exams, whilst simulateously working as an articled clerk in the ‘Trusts’, ‘Commercial Property’, and ‘Company and Commercial’ departments of a leading West End International Law firm), I worked as a commercial solicitor in both industry and private practice, until returning to the Bar, when I joined 1 EC Barristers – which in those days was known as 1 Essex Court.

The book was donated to Lincoln’s Inn Library at my request, by the Law Society of England and Wales.

The 2nd Edition of the ‘Contentious Probate Handbook’ was published in print by the Law Society in February.

The Law is stated as at 1 September 2024.

You can order the book using one of the following links:

– https://lnkd.in/dHtHQjBz (who deliver worldwide).
– https://lnkd.in/ejzMFjyn.
– https://lnkd.in/eQeZaqC8.

My next live Zoom webinar to be presented to members of the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates worldwide in 2025 is entitled – ‘Mediation Advocacy in the Tax-Efficient Settlement of Inheritance Act, Beneficial Interest & Proprietary Estoppel Claims.’

The working title of my next book is ‘Mediation of International Cultural Heritage Disputes – Anachronism, Orientalism, Culture, Ethics & Law’ – See the ‘International Cultural Heritage Disputes’ page at www.carlislam.co.uk.

https://www.lincolnsinn.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Recent-acquisitions-Apr-2025.pdf

This is where ‘Don Quixote’ was conceived and Cervantes began to write one of the greatest novels in Renaissance literature. His ‘impossible dream’ was created inside this prison cell!

https://lnkd.in/euQ4QzSH

‘Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra … 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world’s pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his novel Don Quixote, a work considered as the first modern novel. The novel has been labelled by many well-known authors as the “best book of all time” and the “best and most central work in world literature”.

Much of his life was spent in relative poverty and obscurity, which led to many of his early works being lost. Despite this, his influence and literary contribution are reflected by the fact that Spanish is often referred to as “the language of Cervantes”.

In 1569, Cervantes was forced to leave Spain and move to Rome, where he worked in the household of a cardinal. In 1570, he enlisted in a Spanish Navy infantry regiment, and was badly wounded at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571 and lost the use of his left arm and hand. He served as a soldier until 1575, when he was captured by Barbary pirates; after five years in captivity, he was ransomed, and returned to Madrid.

His first significant novel, titled La Galatea, was published in 1585, but he continued to work as a purchasing agent, and later as a government tax collector. Part One of Don Quixote was published in 1605, and Part Two in 1615. Other works include the 12 Novelas ejemplares (Exemplary Novels); a long poem, the Viaje del Parnaso (Journey to Parnassus); and Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses (Eight Plays and Eight Interludes). The novel Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (The Travails of Persiles and Sigismunda), was published posthumously in 1616.

The cave of Medrano (also known as the casa de Medrano) in Argamasilla de Alba, which has been known since the beginning of the 17th century, and according to the tradition of Argamasilla de Alba, was the prison of Cervantes, [is] the place where he conceived and began to write Don Quixote.’ (Wikipedia).

For your Easter reading, if you have not read Don Quixote, I recommend the English translation by John Rutherford. In this masterpiece Cervantes experimented with various literary devices including humour.

Written during the Catholic ‘Inquisition’ in Spain, subtly woven into the fabic of what on the surface appears to be a comic story, is a profound moral tale, that resonates today.

For Cervantes, who was born into the ‘Golden’ era, when Spain dominated the world, experienced what it meant to be a citizen of the most powerful nation on earth, only to endure a lifetime of watching this ‘super-power’ fall and decline against the discontentment of its people.

https://lnkd.in/eJFz9Yid

In spite of the unimaginable hardships endured by Cervantes inside this prison cell – ‘Genius’ triumphed over Adversity.’

The result – a literary legacy for all mankind that has withstood the test of time and remains relevant today.

That is the power of imagination and words!

1st – Stop shouting at each other!

2nd – Listen.

3rd – Think.

4th – Talk to each other.

‘3RD PRINCIPLE – EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION – LISTEN TO UNDERSTAND IN ORDER TO BE UNDERSTOOD.

The only way to get someone to do something is to make the other person want to do it. Remember that when dealing with people as opposed to machines, you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.
Instead of condemning MA2/P2, what you need to do is to try and understand them. Then, you can understand why they have behaved as they did. As MA1/P1, you must put yourself into the shoes of MA2/P2, in order to see things as they do, i.e. each MA must understand the ‘opposing’ point of view through the lens of the other MA/P. Since only unsatisfied needs can motivate, lower-level needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs can become motivators (see further, Maslow, AH (2022) A Theory of Human Motivation, Wilder Publications).

In the hierarchy of human needs, next to ‘physical survival’, the greatest need
of a human being is ‘psychological survival’, i.e. to be understood, affirmed,
validated, appreciated, and treated with respect and dignity.

“Appreciate their point of view. Understand it. It is very important to appreciate the way they see it. Even if you don’t agree, say that it merits serious consideration. Don’t say that they are wrong. Appreciate their self-esteem. Acknowledge that the other person has been heard. Be prepared to argue their case better than they can before you reply.”

(The late Professor Roger Fisher in a two-hour conversation with the author in his study at Harvard Law School during a research visit as a Scholar from King’s College London to Harvard University in April 2002).

When you listen to a person with empathy, you give them ‘psychological oxygen’. By affirming their vital psychological need for understanding and acknowledgement, you can then move forward by becoming partners in jointly solving a shared problem. When you listen with empathy you open yourself up to being influenced. Being open to influence is the key to influencing others. Just as you can now see a problem through the other P’s eyes, so can P2 see the problem through P1’s eyes. This opens the door to the creation of synergy by acknowledging, exploring and exploiting the interdependence paradigm, see ‘Hidden value’ above. Thus, when parties in dispute sincerely and deeply understand each other, then they can open a hidden door to creative settlement in mediation. That is because their ‘differences’ have been transformed from being obstacles to communication and progress, into ‘stepping-stones’ to synergy. In other words, the MAs can help their lay clients to set themselves free from the past, by working together to bring about a better future.’

[Extract about Mediation Advocacy from the 2nd Edition of the Contentious Probate Handbook (2025)].

The 2nd Edition of the ‘Contentious Probate Handbook’, is published in print by the Law Society of England and Wales. The Law is stated as at 1 September 2024. You can order the book using one of the following links:

– https://www.wildy.com/isbn/9781784462345/contentious-probate-handbook-practice-and-precedents-paperback-38-cd-rom-law-society-publishing. NB Wildy’s deliver worldwide.
– https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contentious-Probate-Handbook-Practice-Precedents/dp/1784462349
– https://bookshop.lawsociety.org.uk/p/contentious-probate-hand-2nd-edition-paperback

My next live Zoom webinar to be presented to members of the Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates worldwide in 2025 is entitled ‘Mediation Advocacy in the Tax-Efficient Settlement of Inheritance Act, Beneficial Interest & Proprietary Estoppel Claims.’

This is provisionally scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday 20 November 2025.

The working title of my next book is ‘Mediation of International Cultural Heritage Disputes – Anachronism, Orientalism, Culture, Ethics & Law’ – See the ‘International Cultural Heritage Disputes’ page at www.carlislam.co.uk

In August 2026 I am also planning to launch a YouTube Channel – ‘Art and Civilization.’ See www.artandcivilization.tv.