Grass Roots

by Alan Dudley Alpass

Overview

Would you expect a suburban Melbourne solicitor to settle brothel brawls, to locate dead bodies and to search for buried bullion? The author relates all of these adventures and more as he explores engaging stories of humanity, gleaned from decades of legal practice. From courtroom characters to family feuding, the author highlights the true, yet untold stories that show a surprising side of legal practice, told with simplicity and colour. As William Shakespeare said, "An honest tale speeds best being plainly told." Whilst the author draws on client experiences from the humorous to the harrowing, the stories are respectfully related reflections upon client battles at the grass roots.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781528989039
Publisher:	Austin Macauley
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.34(d)

About the Author

The author studied law at Monash University in Melbourne during the 1960s and 1970s, when the anti-Vietnam protests were at their zenith. There, his sense of justice was realised. In the 50 years since, his practice of law at the grassroots level has provided a wealth of stories from the humorous to the harrowing. Alan continues to practice law, to write, and to quietly work for professionalism and accountability within the legal profession. In his rare spare moments, Alan enjoys travel, classic cars and, in a change of pace, gardening.

Table of Contents

Biography 11

Bio of Alan Dudley Alpass 11

Prologue 13

Introduction 14

In the Beginning 18

Bob the Barfly 20

The Office 20

Police & Pistols 23

The Start Ends 25

Unconventional Characters 32

Brothel Battle 32

Welcome to Paradise 41

Funding a Defence 44

Collapse 46

Kaz and the Twin Towers 49

Pit Bulls and Pigs 57

Bizarre Cases 62

Protocols for the Passed 62

The Mortgage Broker's Shallow Laugh 69

The Building Society Bandit 75

Postscript 77

Treasure and Jealousy 78

Sad Cases 84

Disturbed Young Man 84

No Real Winners 89

Death in the Grass 96

Unfit to Plead 100

Complex Cases 104

Crime or Compassion 104

In the Matter of the Excalibur 111

Postscript 117

Court at Home 117

Denial 119

Drugs and Ethics 130

Where Personal and Professional Lives Collide 136

I am Provoked 137

I am Arrested 139

I am Sued 146

I am Threatened 151

Can Lawyers be Happy? 153

Epilogue 158