Lawyers, look away now — the latest misuse of the auctioneer’s hammer is from an institution that should really know better
Aspiring barristers starting at BPP Law School this week will doubtless have spotted the massive gavel on the front cover of their course materials.
Despite Legal Cheek’s tireless reporting on gavel misuse — even inspiring a Twitter account dedicated to the problem — BPP has opted to stick the American courtroom prop (that isn’t used in England & Wales) on their 2015 advocacy manual.
BPP teaching auctioneering
#Diversification pic.twitter.com/fQdNlEtazd
— The Bounder (@The_Bounder) September 12, 2015
BPP now joins the gavel hall of shame, alongside esteemed members including Counsel Magazine, The Law Society, Staffordshire University and Bedfordshire University.
This afternoon the law school’s dean, Peter Crisp, indicated to Legal Cheek that disciplinary action had already been taken following the howler, commenting:
This is quite appalling and as punishment our Design Studio staff have been made to write out 100 times ‘English courts have never used gavels’.