‘People are always bemoaning how difficult it is to get into law. It’s competitive, expensive, and for would-be barristers, there’s a five-year time limit during which to secure pupillage – the next stage of legal training.’
The Guardian, 4th March 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Responding to today’s report from the Justice Committee, Alistair MacDonald QC, Chairman of the Bar said:
“We have reached a watershed moment in the administration of justice.’
The Bar Council, 12th March 2015
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
‘The Bar Council has joined forces with a legal credit finance specialist to enable direct access barristers to offer payment plans to their clients.’
Legal Futures, 10th March 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The legal aid funding regulations for judicial reviews, in effect from April 2014, were the subject of this judicial review. To cut to the chase, the Lord Chancellor lost, but no remedy decided yet. (Disclaimer, I submitted a witness statement in support of the Claimants in this case, on the impact on homeless judicial reviews in particular. So you are warned of any possible partiality.)’
NearlyLegal, 3rd March 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A barrister has been disbarred after he was found to have practised for almost 10 months without a valid practising certificate.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd February 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has handed out a tongue-lashing and a costs penalty over a party’s failure to stick to the rules governing the length and content of statements of claim laid down in the Commercial Court Guide.’
Litigation Futures, 23rd February 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Claimant solicitors have been warned that they need to review their retainers and advise clients about the implications of the new ‘fundamentally dishonest’ rule being introduced shortly.’
Litigation Futures, 23rd February 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Britain’s chief criminal barrister will tear into David Cameron and past governments for treating public law “with contempt”, at a lavish £1,750-a-ticket government-backed conference tomorrow marking the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.’
The Independent, 22nd February 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Chambers and employers should be put back in charge of designing the pupillage experience for aspiring barristers, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has said.’
Bar Standards Board, 20th February 2014
Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
‘Lawyers are increasingly using threats of libel action to intimidate clients into taking down negative reviews from comparison websites, it was claimed yesterday.’
Legal Futures, 20th February 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Regulators need to do more with the diversity data they now collect in order to drive improvements in recruitment and particularly progression and retention within the profession, the Legal Services Board (LSB) will shortly say.’
Full story
Legal Futures, 18th February 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The barristers challenging the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates have today been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court declined permission to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s finding that the principle of independence of the advocate was not infringed by QASA, saying it did not have a real prospect of success.’
Legal Futures, 12th February 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) wants to tidy up the regulations in relation to complaint handling by removing the power of its Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) to take “No Further Action” (NFA) decisions.’
Bar Standards Board, 12th February 2015
Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
‘The annual Authorisation to Practise process has now opened, featuring a new method for calculating a barristers’ Practising Certificate Fee (PCF). Barristers have until 31 March 2015 to renew their practising certificates, which is a compulsory part of the Authorisation to Practise process.’
Bar Standards Board, 2nd February 2015
Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
‘Where something goes badly wrong at a hearing it is sometimes necessary for the advocate who was present to explain events as part of the appeal process. It has become customary in immigration proceedings for the advocate to have to write a witness statement and therefore, because he or she is by doing so giving evidence, to stand down from the case and hand over to a colleague. Upper Tribunal judges have seemed insistent that an advocate can barely breath a word of what might have happened at the previous hearing without spontaneously combusting.’
Free Movement, 28th January 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
‘Lord Grabiner’s cross-examination yesterday (21 January) by the Treasury Select Committee investigating the Bank of England’s role in the forex scandal provides an interesting opportunity to reflect on barristers, costs and the influence of money on lawyers.’
Legal Week, 22nd January 2015
Source: www.legalweek.com
‘A public access barrister disbarred for fabricating client letters has won his appeal after the Bar Standards Board was found to have withheld crucial evidence.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th January 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Members of the Government’s inquiry into historic child sex abuse have refused to do any more work until their future is decided.’
Full story
Daily Telegraph, 21st January 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has criticised in the strongest language the behaviour of an official at the Bar Standards Board (BSB) responsible for “subverting the rules” on disclosure.’
Legal Futures, 21st January 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has today [19 January 2015] published a major consultation on the approach to ensuring victims are properly assisted for the trial process at court and called for an overhaul of the service provided to witnesses to ensure that they are able to give the best possible evidence. The proposals are subject to an eight week public consultation.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 19th January 2015
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
