“The Bar Council today published a new guide entitled ‘The Modern Bar’ as part of its continuing work to demystify its role and that of barristers.”
The Bar Council, 17th October 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“If it’s already tough getting into the Bar, it’s about to become a great deal tougher. All aspiring barristers will soon have to take a special aptitude test before they can sit the one-year vocational training course, a move that could weed out hundreds of applicants a year.”
The Times, 15th October 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Response to Ministry of Justice consultation paper: Reforming the Legal Aid Family Barrister Fee Scheme.”
Judiciary of England and Wales, 14th October 2008
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
“An MP has expressed outrage after a barrister referred to a teenage rape victim’s photos on social networking site Facebook showing her looking happy.”
Daily Telegraph, 13th October 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Court of Appeal
“A barrister without chambers who was deemed to be practising but not subject to the disciplinary rules of the Bar’s Code of Conduct was not entitled to provide immigration advice or services contrary to sections 84 and 91 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.”
The Times, 8th October 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“The Bar Council and the CPS have agreed a procedure for handling CPS/BAR Performance Issues in relation to advocacy.”
The Bar Council, 25th September 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“‘I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what your opinion is. I don’t give a monkey’s. You’re the advocate.’ Master John Leslie, who deals daily in the High Court with advocates making procedural submissions, was putting an aspiring barrister through her paces. “I hope I’m not too brutal,” he said in an aside to camera, in a new television series, The Barristers. ‘But in order to bring something home, you need to be direct — you can’t pussy-foot around and say ‘well done’ when mistakes have been made that can be corrected and ought to be corrected.’ ”
The Times, 24th September 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Conference is open to barristers under 10 years’ Call (from Oct 1998), pupils and BVC students and is accredited with 5 CPD hours.”
The Bar Council, 23rd September 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“The Chairman of the Bar has responded robustly to an article by Edward Fennell (At the cutting edge of advocacy) in yesterday’s edition of the Times. Timothy Dutton QC says in his letter that the Bar, rather than being stuck in a time warp, has led the way on issues of diversity and was the first profession to publish an equality and diversity code in 1995.”
Chairman’s letter (PDF)
The Bar Council, 19th September 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“The Government is in crisis talks with the Bar Council after the poor uptake of the very high-cost criminal cases (VHCC) panel has threatened the number of major trials going ahead.”
Legal Week, 18th September 2008
Source: www.legalweek.com
“The Family Law Bar Association yesterday submitted a response to the Ministry of Justice consultation entitled Reforming the Legal Aid Family Barrister Fee Scheme concerning legal fees in family law cases.”
The Bar Council, 11th September 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“Dozens of major trials, including rape and murder cases, are under threat because barristers are refusing to work for a minimum £91 an hour.”
The Times, 11th September 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Peter Lodder QC, who starts work as Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association today (1st September), has called for improvements to the way in which potential barristers are trained.”
The Bar Council, 1st September 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“The introduction of the new Contractual Terms of Work, as the standard basis upon which counsel will accept instructions from solicitors, has unfortunately been delayed until Autumn 2009.”
The Bar Council, 27th August 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
R v K [2008] EWCA Crim 1900; [2008] WLR (D) 294
“A person called to the Bar who had not found a place in chambers but fell within para 206.1 of the Code of Conduct was not thereby ‘authorised’ by the Bar Council to practise as a member of the profession whose members the Bar Council regulated for purposes of s 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; accordingly he was apt to be prosecuted for providing immigration advice or immigration services contrary to ss 84 and 91 of the 1999 Act.”
WLR Daily, 15th August 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“The Bar Council have today (11 August) published a ‘Confiscation in Graduated Fee Cases: Protocol for Counsel‘”
The Bar Council, 11th August 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“Today I am talking to a solicitor turned barrister who writes the very useful employment law blog Usefully Employed. His ‘About’ section explains all – but I shall ask him why he changed from a reasonably stable part of the profession to the more precarious side – at least in terms of weekly cashflow.”
Charon QC, 10th August 2008
Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com
“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.
“The QC and life peer Helena Kennedy, 58, grew up in Glasgow. She was called to the bar in 1972, became a Queen’s counsel in 1991, and was made a life peer in 1997. As a barrister she specialises in human rights. She and her husband, the consultant surgeon Iain Hutchison, 59, have two children: Clio, 21, and Roland, 19. Helena has a son, Kier, 25, by the actor Roger Mitchell. She lives in Hampstead, north London. Clio Kennedy Hutchison attended the international sixth-form Atlantic College in Wales and is now studying anthropology at Durham University.”
The Times, 10th August 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Chairman of the Bar has today issued guidance on court dress regarding the Practice Direction issued by the Lord Chief Justice dated 31 July 2008.”
The Bar Council, 31st July 2008
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“The next director of public prosecutions is a QC with a passion for human rights.”
The Guardian, 1st August 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
