The Archers – Anna Tregorran the Lawyer

July 5, 2016

In last night’s Archers (4 July 2016) Anna Tregorran, the barrister representing Helen Titchener confessed to her mother that she was shaken by this case because in the past she failed to protect a client who was then killed by her abusive partner. This is unfortunately not fiction and does happen. It is good to show the human side to our work as family lawyers (even if there is some artistic licence in that there does not seem to be a solicitor), which can be tough going at times.

Unfortunately, abusive partners like Rob Titchener in the Archers sometimes tend to be extremely convincing witnesses and courts are fooled and believe their story instead of the victim’s account. The storyline is fascinating and has given me plenty of food for thought as well as recognition from cases I have dealt with over the years. The most frustrating thing is that here as in real life, we see people getting into a deeper mess because they fail to get legal advice or, when they do, do not act on it. So Pat Archer (Helen’s mother) was told not to talk to the police without consulting Helen’s lawyer. She went off and did and has now become a prosecution witness and must not talk to or even meet her own daughter.

Helen could have taken steps to protect herself and Henry much earlier, although it is often not clear if she would have been strong enough. I will write more about that some other time.

by Andrea Woelke