Category: barristers

Bar Council: New Lord Chancellor must ensure justice is properly resourced and functioning effectively – The Bar Council

Posted January 9th, 2018 in barristers, legal aid, lord chancellor, news by sally

‘Commenting on the appointment of The Rt Hon David Gauke MP as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Chair of the Bar, Andrew Walker QC, said:

“The Bar Council warmly congratulates David Gauke on his appointment. We look forward to working with the new Lord Chancellor to ensure access to justice is available to all, to ensure that the system for securing the administration of justice is resourced properly and functioning effectively, and to achieve fair and sustainable public funding arrangements for advocacy and legal advice. These matter because they underpin the rule of law and our constitutional principles which the Lord Chancellor has a special responsibility to uphold.”‘

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The Bar Council, 9th January 2018

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

QC appointments remain male dominated, but women who apply more likely to succeed – Litigation Futures

Posted January 4th, 2018 in barristers, equality, news, queen's counsel, women by sally

‘Only 18% of applicants for silk this year were women, but they were far more likely to be appointed than men, it has emerged as 119 new QCs were named today.’

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Litigation Futures, 21st December 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Revealed: Sudden increase in students enrolling on Bar training course – Legal Futures

Posted January 4th, 2018 in barristers, legal education, news by sally

‘There has been a surprise 14% increase in the number of students enrolling on the Bar professional training course (BPTC), it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd January 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Revealed: White students twice as likely as black counterparts to pass LPC – Legal Futures

Posted January 4th, 2018 in barristers, equality, legal education, news, pupillage, reports, solicitors, trainee solicitors by sally

‘Students from white backgrounds are almost twice as likely as those from black backgrounds to pass the legal practice course (LPC), a report by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has revealed.’

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Legal Futures, 4th January 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barrister suspended for giving client money ‘for food’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 18th, 2017 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, news, professional conduct, tribunals by sally

‘A barrister who gave a client cash to pay bills and buy clothes while he was representing her in criminal proceedings has been suspended for six months.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Exclusive: “The impact has been devastating but I have to stand up to discrimination,” says barrister suing BSB – Legal Futures

Posted December 13th, 2017 in barristers, limitations, news, professional conduct, race discrimination, Supreme Court by sally

‘The barrister who won the first stage of her battle with the Bar Standards Board (BSB) at the Supreme Court last week said the impact of almost five years of litigation had been “completely devastating” for her law firm.’

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Legal Futures, 13th December 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Junior barrister numbers at ‘25-year low’ says new chair – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 13th, 2017 in barristers, news, statistics by sally

‘The number of practising junior barristers is as low as it has been for a quarter of a century with the younger generation increasingly being forced out of a career at the bar, the Bar Council’s 2018 chair has warned.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Death of QASA could be “turning point” for regulation of barristers, Bar leader says – Legal Futures

Posted December 13th, 2017 in advocacy, barristers, news, quality assurance by sally

‘The decision of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to withdraw from the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) could be a “turning point” in the regulation of barristers, the in-coming chair of the Bar Council has said.’

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Legal Futures, 13th December 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New research published to help inform Future Bar Training decisions – Bar Standards Board

Posted December 11th, 2017 in barristers, diversity, legal education, news, pupillage, race discrimination, reports by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published two new pieces of research that are intended to provide a qualitative and quantitative evidence base to inform its current decision-making about the future training of barristers.’

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Bar Standards Board, 11th December 2017

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Aspiring barristers to benefit from bar’s wellbeing portal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 11th, 2017 in barristers, internet, legal education, mental health, news, pupillage, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Council has extended its ‘wellbeing’ initiative – originally set up to support barristers who may suffer from mental health problems – to include students.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Time Limits under the Human Rights Act 1998: what is a “course of conduct”? – Cloisters

Posted December 8th, 2017 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, human rights, limitations, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Anna Beale discusses the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the time limit provisions contained in the Human Rights Act 1998 in O’Connor v Bar Standards Board [2017] UKSC 78.’

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Cloisters, 7th December 2017

Source: www.cloisters.com

Have Your Say – The Inner Temple

Posted December 8th, 2017 in barristers, inns of court, legal education, news by sally

‘The BSB consultation on Future Bar Training – Shaping the education and training requirements for prospective barristers – closes on 8 January 2018. The BSB is seeking views on the following:

– The extent to which it should prescribe the role of the Inns of Court in the training and qualification of barristers
– Future regulatory arrangements and rules for work-based learning (pupillage)
– A draft of the Authorisation Framework which will guide training providers in developing new training routes and against which their proposals will be assessed for approval.’

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The Inner Temple, December 2017

Source: www.innertemple.org.uk

Supreme Court go-ahead for barrister’s race claim against regulator – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 7th, 2017 in appeals, barristers, disciplinary procedures, human rights, news, professional conduct, race discrimination, Supreme Court by sally

‘A practising barrister who alleges that her regulator discriminated against her on grounds of her race in bringing disciplinary proceedings has won the backing of the UK’s highest court. In O’Connor v Bar Standards Board, five Supreme Court justices unanimously granted Daphne Evadney Portia O’Connor’s appeal against a Bar Standards Board decision to strike out a claim that the BSB had acted unlawfully in charging her with professional misconduct.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Brexit: UK fails to retain voice in European court of justice – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2017 in barristers, brexit, courts, EC law, news by sally

‘Theresa May has failed to get the EU to agree that Britain will retain a voice at the European court of justice in return for her concession that the Luxembourg court will retain a role in protecting citizens’ rights in the UK after Brexit.’

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The Guardian, 7th December 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court criticises BSB for pursuing tougher sentence against barrister – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 7th, 2017 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, news, sentencing by sally

‘The bar regulator has been criticised after it failed to persuade the High Court that a disciplinary sanction against a barrister convicted of harassment should have been more severe.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th December 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court rules on time limitation for claims under the Human Rights Act – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 7th, 2017 in appeals, barristers, disciplinary procedures, human rights, limitations, news, Supreme Court, time limits by sally

‘The Supreme Court has ruled that a barrister’s claim against the Bar Standards Board for discrimination should not be time barred under the one year limit prescribed by the Human Rights Act. In her case, the Court said, the time limit for bringing proceedings only started running when she successfully appealed against disciplinary action taken against her. The decision to bring disciplinary proceedings and the subsequent hearings were part of a single process, not a series of disparate acts which set the time limitation period running.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th December 2017

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

High Court: Barristers may be entitled to lien but legal expenses insurers are not – Litigation Futures

Posted December 4th, 2017 in barristers, insurance, interest, news, remuneration by sally

‘Barristers may now be entitled to same lien that solicitors can have over the proceeds of litigation, the High Court has suggested, as it ruled that legal expenses insurers do not.’

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Litigation Futures, 4th December 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Barristers to face ‘spot checks’ under new CPD scheme – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 29th, 2017 in barristers, continuing professional development, news by sally

‘Barristers will face ‘spot checks’ on whether they comply with the controversial new continuing professional development rules from next year under proposals outlined by the bar regulator.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th November 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

So you think you can manage? – New Law Journal

Posted November 29th, 2017 in barristers, barristers' clerks, news by sally

‘LPMA veterans Christine Kings & Edith Robertson (share a master class in practice management with John van der Luit-Drummond.’

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New Law Journal, 24th November 2017

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Six years after it was due to begin, BSB pulls the plug on QASA – Legal Futures

Posted November 29th, 2017 in advocacy, barristers, news, quality assurance by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board effectively killed the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) today – six years after it was meant to come into force – by saying it was pulling out to go in a different direction to assure the quality of criminal advocates.’

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Legal Futures, 29th November 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk