Physical footprint

by Catrin Lewis

I joined the Socialist Lawyer collective in about 1994 or ‘95 when Steve Illingworth was editor, I later took over as editor from Steve Gibbons in 1999 and stayed on until 2005. When I joined, people on the collective still recalled fondly the days when a cartoon and drawings would be provided free for every issue by an artistic member of the Society. During my time as editor, Socialist Lawyer underwent a revamp in style and the decision was taken to pay for more photos to balance and complement the writing. Thanks and credit must go to Andy Smith for all his work on this.

Over the years Socialist Lawyer has covered very many issues but of course, as noted by Mike Mansfield in his article, far too many of the issues have remained the same. I do remember in particular getting to the point of thinking ‘oh no, not another Criminal Justice Bill. How many articles can we write about the fundamental importance of the right to jury trial?’ or ‘not another attack on the rights of asylum seekers’, and ‘not another picture of Jack Straw’! Palestine is a constant recurring issue, as now is Guantánamo and its offspring.

One of my favourite issues was that with Benjamin Zephaniah on the cover and for which he had contributed two of his poems. His beautifully crafted words expressing with power and passion the anger and injustice felt by so many over social injustice.

A particularly memorable issue however was one produced before I became editor, which was described as the ‘Sexuality Issue’ as it covered a number of issues in relation to the criminalisation of or the legal status of different sexual preferences. The front cover had a picture of S&M bondage and this was the magazine we took with us to the 1996 IADL Congress in Cape Town which was attended by many ANC members including Kader Asmal and Albie Sachs. This was the issue that was left on each seat in the Parliament building in Cape Town. The feedback for the magazine was very positive.

As Mike Mansfield reminds us, Socialist Lawyer is the physical footprint of the Society and its work. It allows us to communicate with our members and with others outside the organisation. The publication is rightly valued by the Society, and the positive feedback it receives reflects the calibre of the writing. It should not be forgotten that all the contributions, articles, news pieces and campaign updates are provided voluntarily. Members of the Society give up their own free time to write for the magazine, or to put the magazine together, get it to the printers and to distribute it. From my own experience I know this can be a real challenge. Getting the magazine out regularly is a real achievement. There is no real clout behind the editor’s deadline, no pay cheque to dangle in front of writers as reward for their endeavours; contributors are writing because they believe in and care about what they are writing about.

Catrin Lewis is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers and was editor of Socialist Lawyer from 1999 to 2005.

This article can be found in the print edition of Socialist Lawyer number 50, September 2008.