Richard Moorhead
@richardmoorhead.bsky.social
Law prof in UK, and Australia (Exeter and Monash). Empirical and conceptual work on lawyers regulation and ethics. Especially the Post Office and all who billed her. Horizon Compensation Advisory Board. Plastic Geordie. Novice cello player
Pinned
Spaundau Bolly
Obviously we think we are one but may be another
On AI’s ‘mediocrity trap’ — experiments indicates that while AI helps the less skilled make something passable, the highly skilled don’t use it to produce something better than they could have; they produce something ok, but lose motivation to make it great. www.jin-li.org/uploads/1/1/...
November 27, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Obviously we think we are one but may be another
But less than 50% of the time
"Senior lawyers" are wrong.
The governments latest proposals have been slammed by senior lawyers, who said they would not reduce court backlogs and could “destroy justice as we know it”
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...
www.theguardian.com/law/2025/nov...
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
But less than 50% of the time
On the juries debate, I am not hostile to reform. There are problems with alternatives but juries are backed by overheated argument far more than evidence (same too largely for judges though). The thing worth bearing in mind is that bad as backlogs are, our problems run far deeper.
November 25, 2025 at 8:02 PM
On the juries debate, I am not hostile to reform. There are problems with alternatives but juries are backed by overheated argument far more than evidence (same too largely for judges though). The thing worth bearing in mind is that bad as backlogs are, our problems run far deeper.
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
We are delighted to share the latest report from the #PostOffice Project 'Accessing Injustice? Representation and the Criminal Justice System During the Post Office Scandal' by Dr Karen Nokes,Dr Sally Day @richardmoorhead.bsky.social &Prof Rebecca Helm
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/ac...
@laws.ucl.ac.uk
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/ac...
@laws.ucl.ac.uk
Accessing Injustice?
Experiences of representation and the criminal justice system during the Post Office Scandal – by Dr Karen Nokes and the Post Office Project.
www.ucl.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM
We are delighted to share the latest report from the #PostOffice Project 'Accessing Injustice? Representation and the Criminal Justice System During the Post Office Scandal' by Dr Karen Nokes,Dr Sally Day @richardmoorhead.bsky.social &Prof Rebecca Helm
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/ac...
@laws.ucl.ac.uk
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/ac...
@laws.ucl.ac.uk
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Comey: "I'm grateful the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence & incompetence... I was inspired by the career people who refused to be part of this travesty. It cost some of them their jobs, but it preserved their integrity, which is beyond price"
November 24, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Comey: "I'm grateful the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence & incompetence... I was inspired by the career people who refused to be part of this travesty. It cost some of them their jobs, but it preserved their integrity, which is beyond price"
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Good study from KCL: “Terms like 'bots' or 'trolls' no longer capture the full variety of online manipulation. Today, we observe a spectrum of actors ranging from fully automated accounts to 'cyborgs'…co-ordinated troll farms, and loyalist users who…become part of orchestrated campaigns.”
This is useful recent research on how the “bot” category breaks down into people and actual bots - “inauthentic participation” is the unifier www.kcl.ac.uk/orchestrated...
Orchestrated Crowds: Rethinking Inauthentic Participation in Digital…
What is driving online communication today?
www.kcl.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Good study from KCL: “Terms like 'bots' or 'trolls' no longer capture the full variety of online manipulation. Today, we observe a spectrum of actors ranging from fully automated accounts to 'cyborgs'…co-ordinated troll farms, and loyalist users who…become part of orchestrated campaigns.”
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
💡 ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ principle has been exposed by the #PostOfficeScandal as more deeply tarnished than previously thought, according to research by UCL Laws’ Karen Nokes and @uniexeterlawschool.bsky.social's @richardmoorhead.bsky.social, Rebecca Helm and Sally Day.
Some 'defeatist’ Post Office scandal defence lawyers failed victims
Some defence lawyers acting for Post Office Horizon scandal victims during their prosecutions adopted a ‘culture of defeat’ and failed to offer adequate representation, a study co-led by UCL has…
www.ucl.ac.uk
November 24, 2025 at 11:15 AM
💡 ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ principle has been exposed by the #PostOfficeScandal as more deeply tarnished than previously thought, according to research by UCL Laws’ Karen Nokes and @uniexeterlawschool.bsky.social's @richardmoorhead.bsky.social, Rebecca Helm and Sally Day.
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
We are calling on the UK Government to not introduce a levy on higher education provider income from international students, reduce visa costs to attract global talent, and to review higher education funding to create a sustainable model
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...
July 10, 2025 at 8:54 AM
We are calling on the UK Government to not introduce a levy on higher education provider income from international students, reduce visa costs to attract global talent, and to review higher education funding to create a sustainable model
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
The Witkoff-Dmitriev plan is even more amateurish than I imagined. It favours Russia although does contain elements that Russia will not like. Premature leaking means that it is no more than work in progress. Here is an annotated version (This is free). open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...?
The Witkoff-Dmitriev peace plan annotated
We now know a bit more about the process which led to the new peace plan and we now have a copy of its contents, to which I will turn soon.
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:36 AM
The Witkoff-Dmitriev plan is even more amateurish than I imagined. It favours Russia although does contain elements that Russia will not like. Premature leaking means that it is no more than work in progress. Here is an annotated version (This is free). open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...?
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
The senior military lawyer for the combatant command overseeing lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump administration's position that the operations are lawful — and his views were sidelined, according to six sources with knowledge of the legal advice.
Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes
The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...
www.nbcnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:56 PM
The senior military lawyer for the combatant command overseeing lethal strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela disagreed with the Trump administration's position that the operations are lawful — and his views were sidelined, according to six sources with knowledge of the legal advice.
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
@richardmoorhead.bsky.social, who leads the research, said defence lawyers sidestepped rather than addressed their clients’ assertions and focused solely on advising them to plead guilty www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/post-of...
Post Office scandal: Some defence lawyers 'defeatist'
Lawyers were outgunned, out of their depth or uninterested in what clients had to say, academic report reveals.
www.lawgazette.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 2:21 PM
@richardmoorhead.bsky.social, who leads the research, said defence lawyers sidestepped rather than addressed their clients’ assertions and focused solely on advising them to plead guilty www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/post-of...
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Research by Karen Nokes @laws.ucl.ac.uk @richardmoorhead.bsky.social Rebecca Helm and Sally Day from @uniexeterlawschool.bsky.social shows "innocent until proven guilty" was rarely taken seriously enough when subpostmasters came into contact with the legal system
news.exeter.ac.uk/uncategorize...
news.exeter.ac.uk/uncategorize...
Post Office cases cast doubt on the “golden thread” of British justice, study says
The “golden thread” of British justice – the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty – has been exposed by the Post Office Scandal as more deeply tarnished than previously thought, a ne...
news.exeter.ac.uk
November 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Research by Karen Nokes @laws.ucl.ac.uk @richardmoorhead.bsky.social Rebecca Helm and Sally Day from @uniexeterlawschool.bsky.social shows "innocent until proven guilty" was rarely taken seriously enough when subpostmasters came into contact with the legal system
news.exeter.ac.uk/uncategorize...
news.exeter.ac.uk/uncategorize...
I suspect this will be a common (and reasonable) q, to which I have responded
A fair bit of hindsight in that report. An iconic British organisation and a globally respected tech company say they have tested the IT and it is working perfectly. Nobody else is experiencing similar problems. What do you THINK a Court is going to conclude?
November 21, 2025 at 8:24 AM
I suspect this will be a common (and reasonable) q, to which I have responded
From time to time I may mention I have a ticket to the first day of the Sydney test. This is one of those times.
November 21, 2025 at 8:17 AM
From time to time I may mention I have a ticket to the first day of the Sydney test. This is one of those times.
If Harvey Weinstein's lawyer drafted a peace deal
All the rape, torture, and murder will be brushed under the carpet, a great lesson for any future war criminals.
November 21, 2025 at 7:48 AM
If Harvey Weinstein's lawyer drafted a peace deal
Our latest report on the PO and criminal justice system... open.substack.com/pub/richardm...
Accessing Injustice
Innocent until proven guilty is supposed to be the golden thread that runs through the criminal justice system. Does it?
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Our latest report on the PO and criminal justice system... open.substack.com/pub/richardm...
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Clifford Chance cites AI as it axes 10 per cent of back-office staff on.ft.com/48qn9oK
Clifford Chance cites AI as it axes 10 per cent of back-office staff
Magic circle legal firm also shifts work to lower-cost hubs in Poland and India
on.ft.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Clifford Chance cites AI as it axes 10 per cent of back-office staff on.ft.com/48qn9oK
It's like survivor guilt but without anyone dying or, you know, guilt.
The fear of not having enough money is familiar. But there’s a quieter struggle at the top: feeling uncomfortable with having too much, says money psychotherapist Vicky Reynal ⬇️
Why my ultra-rich clients are ashamed of their wealth
www.thetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:06 PM
It's like survivor guilt but without anyone dying or, you know, guilt.
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Obviously a heck of a lot to digest from the Covid inquiry but this one rings true with our experience at the time. Stronger multi disciplinary expertise might have helped show the interconnections and trade offs between health, economics, geography and societal impacts
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Obviously a heck of a lot to digest from the Covid inquiry but this one rings true with our experience at the time. Stronger multi disciplinary expertise might have helped show the interconnections and trade offs between health, economics, geography and societal impacts
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Featuring analysis by @richardmoorhead.bsky.social from @uniexeterlawschool.bsky.social
committees.parliament.uk/work/8998/ru...
committees.parliament.uk/work/8998/ru...
Rule of law: holding the line between anarchy and tyranny - Committees - UK Parliament
The rule of law in the UK is being weakened, and everyone must take steps to protect it against further erosion, says the House of Lords Constitution Committee.
committees.parliament.uk
November 20, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Featuring analysis by @richardmoorhead.bsky.social from @uniexeterlawschool.bsky.social
committees.parliament.uk/work/8998/ru...
committees.parliament.uk/work/8998/ru...
Enfoxtonification
November 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Enfoxtonification
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
Nice that Trump has finally found an Oval Office guest he *doesn't* want to embarrass.
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Nice that Trump has finally found an Oval Office guest he *doesn't* want to embarrass.
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Reposted by Richard Moorhead
