Clive Coleman
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Former BBC Legal Correspondent, barrister and comedy writer
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Presented the BBC's flagship legal analysis programme 'Law In Action' on Radio 4
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Began his career as a barrister in 1986, working in both crime and civil law
Clive Coleman is the BBC's Legal Correspondent, a role he arrived at via a career as a barrister, Principal Lecturer in Law, and then one of the country's leading comedy writers.
He works across television news and radio, appearing regularly on the Today programme, Five Live, Breakfast, The News Channel and BBC news bulletins.For six years from 2004–2010 he presented the BBC's flagship legal analysis programme 'Law In Action' on Radio 4, a role for which, in 2009, he won the Bar Council's Legal Broadcasting Award. Clive has presented many other television and radio programmes for the BBC including Panorama (BBC1), Profile (R4), Pick of the Week (R4), The Cases That Changed Our World (R4).
Clive Coleman began his career as a barrister in 1986 at the chambers of Robin Stewart QC at 2 Harcourt Buildings, Temple. Working in both crime and civil law, for prosecution and defence, his career started in spectacular fashion when he managed to get his first client off with a mere six-month prison sentence. That was for a parking offence, though, to be fair, he had just parked on top of his social worker!
So, it's perhaps not surprising that he saw the funny side of life in court and wanted to write about it. His television credits include: 'Dead Ringers', 'Spitting Image', 'Smith and Jones' and 'Chambers' his hit BBC1 sit-com about barristers, starring John Bird, James Fleet and Sarah Lancashire.
He's also written a huge amount of comedy for Radio with credits including, 'Weekending', 'The News Huddlines' and his sit-com 'Spending My Inheritance', starring Kris Marshall. Clive Coleman's also written television drama for the ITV series 'The Bill' (for whom he has also acted as a legal consultant on court based story lines).
In 1992, Clive Coleman won the prestigious BBC Radio Light Entertainment Contract Writers Award. In 1998 he won the BBC's inaugural 'Frank Muir Award', for outstanding comedy writing. He has also written regularly on 'The Times' comment pages and for 'The Guardian' and 'The Independent'.
'A Funny Thing Happened on The Way To The Courtroom'
Clive Coleman has delivered keynote and after dinner speeches to an array of UK based and multinational companies, trade and professional bodies. Not restricted by any means to the legal profession, Clive’s after dinner speech will delight audiences from all professions and walks of life — offering a hilarious and unique perspective on the quirkiness of the world in which we live today.
Conference Hosting & Keynote Speaking
As a conference host and link presenter, Clive has hosted numerous conferences and awards ceremonies where his combination of analytical, broadcasting and writing skills have enabled him to write and deliver talks, links and chair debates which ensure that the focus is always sharp, intelligent and witty.
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Perhaps it is because barristers are so used to thinking on their feet that some of Clive Coleman's best material 'seemed' to be completely off the cuff. His quick wit and ability to tailor his speech to the requirements of our brief made for a marvellous evening.
It's no exaggeration to say that Clive Coleman 'made the difference' to our annual conference. His professional links and razor sharp humour kept the pace up and the tone light, without flippancy. He was nominated 'the best thing about the conference' on the majority of event evaluation forms. Many thanks.
It is unusual to re-book a speaker, people tend to want a change. Clive Coleman is an exception. We've been entertained by him on a number of occasions, each time he has been different, very funny and written fresh material about our company, current projects and personnel. We will be seeing him again.
I wanted to take this opportunity to record our grateful thanks for the wonderful performance Clive Coleman gave last Friday at our Annual Marketing Awards. The feedback from those who attended has been superb and as I indicated, he pitched his material exactly right for the mixed audience. We look forward to Clive joining us for a repeat performance next year.
Clive Coleman went down really well at the conference! He facilitated the day brilliantly and encouraged participation from the audience. His knowledge/interest in the conference subjects were evident and his introductions/links made the day flow really well. Once again, thanks to both Clive Coleman and Chris [from NMP Live] for their assistance in this event.
Your after dinner speech was a great success. You hit just the right level of humour required and the committee has received excellent feedback.
Your speech was one of the most stimulating and humorous that we have ever heard. It was one of the highlights of the evening. You managed very early on to grab the audience's attention and relayed anecdotes to which many could relate. Your 'Adopt a Lawyer for Christmas' was a brilliant spoof. Thank you Clive for helping to make Gadsby Wicks 10th Anniversary Celebration such a success. Our families and guests enjoyed your company tremendously'.
A lot of people said on the night, and have been saying by email this morning, that they thought Clive’s speech was really very funny indeed, and I thought so too. One of the best after dinner speeches we’ve had, if not the best.
How to book Clive Coleman for your event
To book Clive Coleman, please submit an online enquiry to booking.agent@nmp.co.uk or contact one of our booking agents on +44 (0)20 3822 0003.
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