© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
When it comes to fiduciary principles, trustees cannot afford to allow themselves to fall into the ranks of the ‘less skilled’, or of those ‘beyond the reach of reason’
*Tony Molloy QC, Shortland Chambers, 13/70 Shortland Street, PO Box 4338, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: apmolloyqc@shortlandchambers.co.nz
**Toby Graham, Partner and Head of Contentious Trusts and Estates, Farrer & Co, 66 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, UK WC2A 3LH. Email: tbg@farrer.co.uk
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Trusteeship is a burden. If it does not occasionally cause pain, the trustee probably is not doing it right. Harvard Law Prof. Alan Dershowitz comments on lawyers in his 2001 book (or, probably, one of his 2001 books), Letters to a Young Lawyer. At p. 20, he says truly that
a lawyer without any enemies is likely to be a coward and a sycophant. ... If everybody likes you, you’re doing something wrong. You’re not being tough enough.At p. 21, he refers to his acquaintanceship with ‘too many people who have taken prestigious jobs—deanships, chairmanships, judgeships, professorships, partnerships—simply because they were flattered to be offered them. Understand the difference between being offered a job and accepting it. It is flattering, even career-enhancing, to be offered a prestigious job, but it is a terrible mistake to accept the job unless it is right for you’.
These sentiments are apposite,