‘The Bar’s professional indemnity insurer has been ordered to reimburse a barrister after it withdrew funding for him to defend disciplinary proceedings because he wanted to appoint a non-panel solicitor.’
Legal Futures, 24th June 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Bar Council is looking at whether it needs to take action to protect ‘third six pupils’ from exploitation by chambers as they try to stay in the profession and find a tenancy.’
Legal Futures, 21st June 2016
SOurce: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Lawyers should tell clients in cases where costs significantly exceed damages that the new test of proportionality means they will receive “no more than a contribution” to those costs if they are successful, a costs judge has said.’
Litigation Futures, 17th June 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘As large numbers of students continue to pursue a career at the bar, Diana Bentley speaks to those at the forefront of the education of barristers about whether the current approach is appropriate – both for the students and the wider profession.’
The Future of the law, 13th June 2016
‘The son of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia has won an appeal against a multi-million-pound award handed to his father’s “secret wife”. Palestinian-born Janan Harb, won a package of cash and property worth more than £20m last November. Judge Peter Smith, sitting at London’s High Court, accepted her assertions that Prince Abdul Aziz, had agreed to the huge payout. But lawyers for the prince later asked Court of Appeal judges to quash the “unsustainable” award.’
The Independent, 16th June 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Litigants with limited funds should use direct access barristers to represent them in court rather than pay for McKenzie Friends, the Bar Council has argued.’
Legal Futures, 10th June 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘What can lawyers learn from the tortuous 27-year struggle for justice?
Law Society’s Gazette, 8th June 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The senior costs judge has slashed a claimant’s costs bill in a high-profile media case because of the proportionality tests brought in by the Jackson reforms – despite deeming it to be ‘reasonable and necessary’.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 6th June 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Family law at a distance (PDF)
Speech by Lord Sumption
At a Glance Conference 2016, Royal College of Surgeons, 8th June 2016
Source: www.supremecourt.uk
‘Legal specialisations are “essentially bogus”, Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption declared today as he urged practitioners to break out of their core areas and learn from other parts of the profession.’
Legal Futures, 8th June 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has announced a change in its practising certificate fee (PCF) rules, which will put the spotlight on spending by professional bodies such as the Law Society and Bar Council.’
Legal Futures, 6th June 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Disciplinary Tribunal of the Council of the Inns of Court, having determined disciplinary proceedings in favour of a non-practising barrister who had represented herself at the hearing, ordered the Bar Standards Board to pay her costs and appointed an assessor to determine the amount. Treating the Civil Procedure Rules as persuasive, the assessor took the view that by reason of her status as a barrister and the fact that she had conducted the proceedings herself, the barrister had established financial loss sufficient to allow recovery of two thirds of the rate which a solicitor would have charged had CPR r 48.6 applied. He therefore assessed her costs in the sum of £27,521·50 for 166 hours of work, a figure not in dispute. The award included the costs of her time at the rate of £120 per hour. The board claimed judicial review of that decision, contending that the barrister was entitled to no more than that to which a litigant in person would have been entitled, and that the expenditure of her time and skill did not amount to financial loss within the meaning of CPR r 48.6(4)(a). The Divisional Court, allowing the claim in part, held that the correct basis of assessing costs was in accordance with regulation 31 of the board’s Disciplinary Tribunals Regulations 2009 as amended, namely, to award such costs as the tribunal thought fit, the Civil Procedure Rules being neither applicable nor persuasive, and the financial loss of a barrister acting in person defending disciplinary proceedings included the expenditure of the barrister’s own professional skill. The court therefore held that the barrister was entitled to the costs represented by her expenditure of professional skill in successfully defending the charges brought against her. The court concluded that an hourly rate of £120 was too high since she had not been practising at the time, and accordingly substituted an award of costs calculated at £60 per hour. The court further ordered the barrister, as an interested party in the proceedings,to pay 60% of the board’s costs of the judicial review proceedings.’
WLR Daily, 11th May 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘The government has admitted that it will not be able to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence cases on 1 October as planned.’
Litigation Futures, 31st May 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.co.uk
‘The government has been asked to look at changing the Civil Procedure Rules to prevent solicitors from employing unregistered barristers as agents to represent clients in court.’
Litigation Futures, 27th May 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The Bar Council has responded to today’s report from the Public Accounts Committee, on the criminal justice system.’
The Bar Council, 27th May 2016
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
‘Large numbers of barristers’ chambers are flouting an obligation to publish diversity data and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has been “unsophisticated” in its implementation of Legal Services Board (LSB) diversity rules, an influential academic has charged.’
Legal Futures, 23rd May 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘New guidance is released today [24 May] for lawyers on drainage requirements for new build developments.’
Legal Futures, 24th May 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Part of being in prison is that your rights and freedom are restricted. But prisoners do retain some rights – this was re-confirmed by the highest UK court 15 years ago today.’
RightsInfo, 23rd May 2016
Source: www.rightsinfo.org
‘The bar regulator is expected to begin licensing non-lawyer-owned legal firms later this year, subject to the lord chancellor’s rubber stamp.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 19th May 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Barristers have complained that the decision of their regulator to make public the risk of commercial pressures damaging the Bar could on its own have a negative impact on the profession’s reputation.’
Legal Futures, 18th May 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
