I blame the recession. After writing what feels like that 35th consecutive piece on job cuts/pay freezes/the credit crunch, I've this week felt utterly bereft of inspiration to blog. CC's less-than-shocking partnership restructuring? What is there left to say? With my ability to punditise so lacking, I even toyed for a moment with writing about Chelsy Davy going to A&O. But apart from thinking that she's going to stick out like a sore, yet well-tanned, thumb amid the playground atmosphere of a City law firm's junior ranks (she should have gone to Farrers), I haven't got an opinion.

Instead, I'm turning to the most leftfield legal story I saw this week - the Bar Standards Board's banning of BVC graduate Maney Ullah from advertising to secure a pupillage (Davy would have had no trouble getting into the Bar, I bet).

Now, I'm sure there is no end of excellent reasons why Ullah shouldn't be allowed to advertise to get a place, many of them contained in the seminal Annexe R of the Bar Code of Conduct.

Some legalweek.com readers have also pointed out that the system governing the awarding of pupillage is there to stop patronage, nepotism and privilege helping candidates to secure a place on anything other than merit. Likewise, I'm sure that's true, though many would say that the current regime is not very successful at achieving those aims.

But it just doesn't seem that bad. Hasn't the poor guy shown a bit of initiative? Opinions among readers is divided, with some lauding Ullah's pluck while others felt he sounded suspiciously like an awful spiv. Well, if the Bar's powers that be can preside over a dysfunctional clearing system for pupillage, it's hardly surprising that some bright spark should try to get around the rules.

Now, about the snow…