Roger Partridge: Supreme Court matters - Why lawyers need to speak out

Imagine a system in which those who understand it best see a problem developing – slowly, incrementally, case by case – but choose not to say so publicly. Not because they are forbidden to speak. Not because they are ignorant. But because speaking carries personal cost, while silence is professionally safer.

The system continues to function. No single failure is dramatic enough to force action. Each adjustment can be defended on its own terms. Outsiders assume that if something were seriously wrong, those closest to it would say so.

Over time, the problem becomes structural. By the time it is widely acknowledged, it is no longer easy to reverse.