A YOUNG James Nugent was once told by a solicitor that he would be unable to fight his way out of a wet paper bag. That was a long time ago, just ask the former Minister for Health, Mr Howlin. Following a two hour cross examination this week by Nugent at the Hepatitis C Tribunal of Inquiry, he was heard to remark to an aide: "That was rough, wasn't it?"
Thanks to James Nugent, tribunals of inquiry are back in vogue. After the experiences of the beef tribunal the State was reluctant, to say the least, to become embroiled in another lengthy and messy judicial inquiry. But mainly Nugent, counsel for the tribunal, and Mr Justice Thomas Finlay have managed to redeem them in the public eye.
From day one when he gave a resume of the evidence that was going to be heard, the contents of which shocked even those closest to the scandal, the chairman of the Bar Council has been quickly and efficiently getting to the bottom of the biggest health scandal in the history of the State.
Pens are poised on the press benches when Nugent stands to cross examine a witness - always courteous, he nods his head slightly as if in agreement, with arms folded. He does not appear as a man in a hurry.
But despite the seemingly relaxed style he is razor sharp with an excellent logic.
"He is not a Rottweiler, more like a sheepdog really. He closes off all the exits as he goes along, until eventually there is only one option left," explains one journalist who has covered the tribunal.
"Really," he might be heard to say in his slightly nasal, upper middle class tones, at the end of a lengthy and circulatory answer from a witness. "But that is not the question I asked you at all."
He has had many memorable lines, including his comparison of the Department of Health to the Starship Enterprise.
Chairman of the Bar Council for the past 18 months, he does not shy away from the question of the huge amounts of money barristers earn.
He says the beef tribunal, in which he played a part, "was a disaster for the profession. It went on too long and cost too much and we were a part of that, and the whole thing was bad value for money". Lessons have been learnt, he says.
He represented John Bruton, and the rest of Fine Gael, apart from Brendan McGahon, in Dublin Castle. He became known as "Bruton's brute" after his cross examination of Charles Haughey. He is closely associated with Fine Gael and was involved with the Fine Gael Commission on Renewal.
It would appear he left the questioning of the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, at the hepatitis C tribunal last week to his colleague, Rory Brady SC, so that there could be no allegations of "going too soft" on a Fine Gael minister.
Although with less to go on than the other counsel at the beef tribunal, Nugent managed to cause quite a stir. He got right up the nose of Ray MacSharry, pinned Padraig O hUiginn to the pin of his collar, and got findings way beyond his brief.
The thrust of his tenure as chairman of the Bar Council has been to open up the profession - "to bring it out of the 19th century so that barristers deal with people from outside in an acceptable manner for the century we are in," according to one of his colleagues.
Since his appointment, a press and public relations manager and a special projects manager have been employed by the council. He has fought, successfully, for more judges. He is also seeking better facilities for the more than 1,000 members of the Law Library - an £18 million development is being carried out on the old Distillery site on. Church Street. A law library was opened in Cork last month.
Nugent is also in favour of an international arbitration centre being established in Dublin. The position as chairman of the Bar Council is viewed by some as a precursor to joining the Bench.
Those close to him describe him as a gentleman, in the traditional sense. He is said to be a little aloof at first but an extremely loyal man of the highest integrity, with a droll sense of humour.
He is very private and likes to spend time with his wife, Margaret, a solicitor, walking in the Co Meath countryside, where they live with their five sons. He served as chairman of Temple Street Children's Hospital from 1986 to 1993.
He grew up in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, but spent much time with his mother's family in Roscommon. His mother, Mary Neil an, a solicitor, died when he was a young boy.
At the age of 12 he was sent to Glenstal Abbey where he formed a friendship with fellow pupil Harry Whelehan, a friendship that lasts to this day. He was said to be very supportive during Whelehan's "troubles" prior to the fall of the last government. Their rooms are side by side in Church Street.
After graduating from UCD he joined the Bar in 1969, following in the footsteps of his father, Peter. He devilled with Kevin Lynch, now a Supreme Court judge.
"He makes a lot of money in an area that does not tax him too much," explained one barrister, "the higher end of personal injury cases".
He is a member of what is somewhat waspishly known in the Law Library as the Midlands Light Orchestra - a title bestowed on a tightly knit group of barristers practising on the busy and lucrative Midlands circuit.
Whatever the slings and arrows, James Nugent loves the law. "It's never dull and very challenging. At times it is hugely personally rewarding, and of course financially, if it works for you. Every now and then you do real good for someone.