An unusual lawyerbasher this week, coming not on the winds of current affairs, but more the mists of time. Yes, that famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri has been putting the boot into the world’s most unpopular profession.

Of course, given that the great man has been dead for nearly 700 years, the medium for his words came in the shape of SEC chairman Harvey Pitt, this month addressing the American Bar Association’s annual conference.