Hugh and I were in opposite rooms in Chambers as barristers. We were not infrequently advising opposing sides. But we hardly ever were on opposite sides in the courtroom. Why? Because we thought very alike. If I was advising a client he had a good case, Hugh would be advising the other side that he had a weak one. And vice versa. So, most cases between us settled. Some people called us the terrible twins and oft en judges mixed us up. Judges sometimes said ‘Yes Mr Laddie’ to me and ‘Yes Mr Jacob’ to him.

Because we thought so alike I am completely confident in saying how much Hugh would have not only enjoyed but appreciated the lectures given in honour of his memory. They are a formidable collection. Serious and perceptive, sometimes funny, and eminently readable they all are. It fell to me to decide who to ask and to do the asking. No one I asked ever said no. All the Hugh Laddie lecturers were first choices. They could each have said no, not least because preparing a big lecture of this sort is a huge pain! We are immensely grateful to all the lecturers for agreeing to suffer and actually going through that pain.

The lectures range over the entire spectrum of IP rights. Some cover all. Between them they give a unique perspective of IP over the last ten years. I like to think there is not a practitioner, at least one who loves his or her job, who would not enjoy and gain from these lectures. They will also gain from reading – or re-reading – Hugh's own inaugural lecture, which we have included too. It is a rallying call to keep IP rights within rational bounds, given in Hugh's inimitable style.

It may be of interest to know how we went about preparing the text. In most cases, we used the services of superb shorthand writers to transcribe the lectures from the recordings. I am immensely grateful to Jenny Chandler of Marten Walsh Cherer Ltd for organising this. She was a good friend of Hugh's and is good friend of mine. Each transcript was sent to the speaker.