Matthew Steeples to interview Karen Phillipps, author of the newly released ‘Get Carman,’ at 8th December discussion dinner in London; an account of the life and times of “Britain’s most feared lawyer” George Carman QC
“One has to express things in a way a jury finds attractive” and “it is not the duty of a barrister to find out the truth; that is for the jury” are two of the late, great George Carman QC’s most notable remarks. Now, with the publication of Karen Phillipps’s “gripping” new book, Get Carman, reminder of such again comes to the fore. As Carman himself concluded: “A barrister’s duty is to his client, to present his case as best as he can.”
On Sunday 8th November at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie in London, SW3, Phillipps will be interviewed by Matthew Steeples about “Britain’s most feared and most famous lawyer in living memory” during the second in a series of ‘discussion dinners’ about lawmakers and lawbreakers. She will speak of her personal experiences with a legal titan she describes as “complex and private and yet not unsociable” and will explore cases including that of Sonia Sutcliffe v. News of the World, Elton John v. Mirror Group Newspapers, Jonathan Aitken v. The Guardian and Neil Hamilton v. Mohamed Al Fayed.
The evening follows a rip-roaring first event on the candlelit mezzanine level at PJ’s on 6th November where renowned policing and crime expert and Talk TV Crime Suspect and Channel 4 Manhunt ‘Chief’ Peter Bleksley spoke of the toxicity that has enveloped policing and explored the public’s enthusiasm for the true crime genre. This time, guests will be able to ask Phillipps about not only the courtroom dramas and legendary “one-line zingers” that made Carman famous, but also learn of why, as Judge Rinder’s Rob Rinder MBE puts it, “the bad, the sad and sometimes the mad – would (if they could) do anything to get Carman.”
Famed especially for his remarkably and surprisingly successful defence of the disgraced former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe – subsequently played by Hugh Grant in the BBC’s A Very English Scandal – it will be for bringing theatre to the English justice system that Carman will be long be remembered for and today we urge you to sign up to attend what will not just be a night to fascinate legal eagles, but also a riveting evening of festivity and fine dining.
Tickets to the evening are priced at £99 and include a delicious 3 course Christmas dinner and a glass of Prosecco and half a bottle of red or white wine per person. Book by clicking here on Eventbrite or should you wish to pay by direct bank transfer please contact angelo@thesteepletimes.com to receive the relevant sort code and account number to send to.
Copies of Get Carman – published by Biteback Publishing – will also be available to purchase and to be signed on the night for £25, cash only.
Editor’s note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples and watch his shows on YouTube at @mjs2781/streams.
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George Carman’s Clients & Cases…
- Coronation Street actor Peter Adamson.
- Dr Leonard Arthur, a consultant paediatrician accused of killing a Down Syndrome baby.
- Businessman Sir Richard Branson.
- Actor Tom Cruise and his then wife, actress Nicole Kidman.
- Comedian Ken Dodd.
- Since disgraced business tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed.
- Musician Sir Elton John.
- British spy Geoffrey Prime.
- Carole Richardson, one of the Guildford Four.
- Disgraced former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe.
The QC’s Most Famous Quotes…
- On Ken Dodd: “Some accountants are comedians, but comedians are never accountants.”
- On David Mellor: “Behaved like an ostrich and put his head in the sand, thereby exposing his thinking parts.”
- On Sonia Sutcliffe, the wife of the Yorkshire Ripper: “She danced on the graves of her husband’s victims. She is a clever, confident, cold and calculating woman. She has sought to excite sympathy at every available opportunity in the witness box. The truth and Sonia do not make good bedfellows.”
- On Jeremy Thorpe: “He is human, like us all. We learn – do we not? That idols sometimes have feet of clay.”
