It is even less humble than Michael Wolkind QC’s actual website
Self-styled “top barrister” Michael Wolkind QC appears to have fallen victim to an internet troll who has created a spoof LinkedIn account in his name — and people are falling for it.
The experienced criminal silk, whose incredible personal website was referred to the Bar Standard Board (BSB) by the Court of Appeal yesterday, has clearly made an enemy.
The “premium” LinkedIn account — for which prices start at around £20 a month — uses a real image of the 2 Bedford Row barrister along with what appears to be some genuine information.
Details regarding spoof Wolkind QC’s time as a bereavement councillor and his spell as chair of a company called “Media Community Network Limited” seem plausible enough and bring an air of legitimacy to the profile.
With 266 connections and over 100 endorsements for spoof Wolkind’s skills, including “advocacy” and “legal writing”, some LinkedIn users apparently believe they are connected to the great man himself.
However, other parts of the profile clearly reveal that this indeed is a joke account.
Legal Cheek particularly likes the reference to a silver medal in his school’s “egg and spoon race” in 1959. Claiming he could have took gold, the mock entry explains:
I was just about to win when I was bitten by a classmate called Louis Suarez. He was, of course, expelled and, thankfully, he has never been heard of again.
Mocking the QC’s self-proclamation that he is the “UK’s top barrister”, the profile suggests that spoof Wolkind will be the greatest barrister to have ever lived, continuing:
It is ridiculous that so many people say I am the Greatest Advocate that has ever lived. Such a begrudging description allows for the possibility that sometime in the future there will be one of greater talent. It won’t happen. Shall we now formally agree the description ‘Michael is the Greatest Advocate who has lived, or will ever live, on this or any other Planet’.
While listing Wolkind’s beloved Barnet FC as “the world’s worst soccer team”, the spoof profile reveals the leading barrister enjoys watching the television show The Wire, listening to the music of Johnny Dowd and “the use of random capital letters”.
The final point is clearly a pop at Wolkind’s personal website, on Which he seems To struggle with the rules of Capitalisation. For those wishing to contact spoof Wolkind, the profile advises “telepathy”.
Previously:
Court of Appeal refers ‘UK’s top barrister’ to regulator over his incredible website [Legal Cheek]