Now that his stint refereeing one of the bitterest grudge matches Wembley has ever seen has finally come to an end, Mr Justice Jackson is to be rewarded with a seat in the Court of Appeal. If he can separate Multiplex and Cleveland Bridge, then the court above should be a walk in the park. However, it seems Jackson developed a taste for the fray early in his career. According to former colleague Chris Dale, one of Jackson's cases as a young barrister was a "bloody war of attrition" between an upmarket shop and its shop-fitters. Dale writes in his blog: "It had no deep points of law in it, just two parties who hated each other and were not willing to consider that there could be any meeting-point between their respective positions." Ring any bells? In these difficult times, contractors are understandably keen to squeeze a few drops of PR honey from whatever opportunity they can. Last week, Wates Group, normally a model of British understatement, was bragging about its appearance on ITV talent contest the X Factor. It did the ￡6.5m fit-out of the Sony BMG offices in London, which were the backdrop for an interview with pop mogul Simon Cowell. Sadly, I suspect the attention of most X Factor viewers was not on the quality of the partitioning and raised flooring.
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