How to be a feminist lawyer – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted October 28th, 2014 in barristers, legal profession, news, speeches, women by sally

‘Elizabeth Woodcraft and Alison Diduck, a Professor at University College London, speak about what it means to be a feminist barrister.’

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog,

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Lord Chancellor should be “very senior lawyer” – Legal Futures

Posted October 17th, 2014 in barristers, judiciary, lord chancellor, news, parliament, rule of law by sally

‘The Lord Chancellor should be a “very senior lawyer”, Nicholas Lavender QC, chairman of the Bar Council, has said. Justice secretary Chris Grayling told the House of Lords constitution committee this week that there were “no disadvantages” to the Lord Chancellor being, like him, a non-lawyer.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 17th October 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Council Statement on the role of the Lord Chancellor – The Bar Council

Posted October 17th, 2014 in barristers, inquiries, judiciary, lord chancellor, parliament, press releases by sally

‘Following the Lord Chancellor’s evidence on October 15 2014 to the House of Lords
Constitution Committee’s inquiry into the role of the Lord Chancellor, Nicholas Lavender QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: “Justice is not a service that governments can choose to provide or not. It is a vital part of our constitutional arrangements. It needs to be defended and promoted to make the separation of powers a continuing reality and thereby to safeguard our democratic way of life for the future.” ‘

Full press release

The Bar Council, 16th October 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Public Access Work For The Young Bar – No. 5 Chambers

Posted October 15th, 2014 in advocacy, barristers, legal profession, news, solicitors by sally

‘“The Times They Are A-Changing” wrote Bob Dylan in 1963. Is public access (PA) a reinvention of the wheel or an opportunity for all lawyers? The work that barristers can now do is utterly different from a decade ago. The growth of McKenzie friends shows the legal landscape has been affected by financial constrictions and widening consumer choice. Solicitors have higher rights of audience and employed barristers can be advocates. Professionals from both sides wonder whether there is still a real difference. The answer currently is that there remain significant differences though the edges are becoming blurred. This article will not examine those differences or likely future of the professions. Instead it offers an insight to how barristers, especially young barristers willing to embrace change, can help their future while continuing to work with solicitors.’

Full story

No. 5 Chambers, 2nd October 2014

Source: www.no5.com

BSB probes contracts between chambers and solicitors – Legal Futures

Posted October 14th, 2014 in barristers, codes of practice, complaints, contracts, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is investigating the extent to which barristers have been accepting work from solicitors without entering into contracts, or accepting terms “contrary to their regulatory obligations”.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 14th October 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Call for evidence: review of standard contractual terms and cab rank rule – Bar Standards Board

Posted October 13th, 2014 in barristers, codes of practice, contracts, news by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today [10 October] issued a call for evidence as part of a new review of the standard contractual terms and the cab rank rule. This is to establish the contractual basis on which barristers are being instructed, and to gather evidence about the frequency with which the cab rank rule is being invoked.’

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 10th October 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

QASA ruling: barristers ‘should not only be independent but competent’ – LegalVoice

Posted October 10th, 2014 in advocacy, appeals, barristers, judicial review, Legal Services Board, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has unanimously rejected the appeal of criminal barristers arguing that QASA (the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates) was unlawful. It was argued that the scheme compromised the independence of advocates and that the decision on the part of the Legal Services Board (LSB) to approve it was unlawful. All grounds were quashed and implementation is now due to take place some eight years after the original proposals were tabled.’

Full story

LegalVoice, 9th October 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

New rights for victims of crime – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Victims will have the right to tell the court how they have been affected by a crime as part of a major set of reforms announced by the Justice Secretary. They will also receive better information and support with the introduction of a nationwide Victims’ Information Service, making it easier for victims by establishing a single source of information and help.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 30th September 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

QC wins High Court battle to be paid £100,000 fee – Legal Futures

Posted September 26th, 2014 in barristers, contracts, professional conduct, remuneration, striking out by sally

‘The High Court has ordered a Jersey lawyer to pay an English barrister’s fee, dismissing a claim that the fee was an honorarium which was not legally enforceable.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 26th September 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New, fairer way of calculating barristers’ practising certificate fees announced – The Bar Council

Posted September 26th, 2014 in barristers, fees, press releases, remuneration by sally

‘The way in which barristers’ Practising Certificate Fees (PCF) are calculated will soon change to become fairer, the Bar Standards Board and Bar Council have announced today.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 25th September 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Bar Council urges government rethink on end of insolvency LASPO exemption – Litigation Futures

Posted September 23rd, 2014 in barristers, insolvency, news, reports, time limits by sally

‘The Bar Council has urged the government to reconsider its plans to end the Jackson reforms exemption currently applied to insolvency litigation.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 23rd September 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

BSB enforcement activity producing better outcomes: time taken to investigate complaints against barristers reducing – Bar Standards Board

Posted September 22nd, 2014 in barristers, complaints, disciplinary procedures, enforcement, news, statistics by sally

‘The latest Annual Report on the performance of the Bar Standards Board (BSB)’s Professional Conduct Committee and Professional Conduct Department has been published today. The report shows that the percentage of cases being concluded or referred to disciplinary action within the agreed service standards increased from 64% in 2012/13 to 77% in 2013/14.’

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 19th September 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Bar Council publishes third representational annual report – The Bar Council

Posted September 22nd, 2014 in advocacy, barristers, budgets, costs, diversity, equality, fees, legal aid, news, reports by sally

‘The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has today published the third edition of its annual report, ‘Representing the Bar’, which focuses on the organisation’s representational activities and performance against key strategic aims for 2013-14.’

Full story

The Bar Council, 19th September 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Supreme Court forces barristers to waive success fees – Litigation Futures

Posted September 22nd, 2014 in appeals, barristers, costs, fees, news, solicitors, Supreme Court, wills by sally

‘The president of the Supreme Court has taken the “fairly remarkable” course of forcing two barristers into dropping their claims to success fees in a case which he said again highlighted the “many unsatisfactory aspects” of the pre-Jackson CFA regime.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 18th September 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Independent review shows Bar Standards Board’s complaints handling process “fair, consistent, and well-reasoned” – Bar Standards Board

Posted September 19th, 2014 in barristers, complaints, professional conduct, reports by sally

‘Decisions made by the Bar Standards Board’s Professional Conduct Department, which deals with complaints about professional misconduct by barristers, are “fair, consistent, and well-reasoned”, according to an independent review of the regulator’s enforcement system.’

Full report

Bar Standards Board, 19th September 2014

Source: www.barstandrdsboard.org.uk

Bar Council report claims LASPO 2012 damages access to justice – The Bar Council

Posted September 18th, 2014 in barristers, civil justice, costs, delay, family courts, legal aid, litigants in person, reports by sally

‘The Bar Council has today published a report, based on interviews and a survey of legal practitioners, assessing the impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 on our system of justice a year after implementation in April 2013.’

Full report

The Bar Council, 18th September 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Consumer panel calls into question barristers’ £500,000 indemnity limit – Litigation Futures

Posted September 17th, 2014 in barristers, indemnities, insurance, legal profession, legal services, news by sally

‘The Legal Services Consumer Panel has called into question the existing minimum indemnity cover limit of £500,000 for barristers and called for more research before the limit is extended to firms regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 17th September 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.co.uk

A bold new vision for the treatment of victims – Ministry of Justice

‘Victims’ rights will be enshrined in law as part of a major set of reforms announced by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling today.’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 14th September 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

We need more independence, BSB director says – Legalfutures

Posted September 12th, 2014 in barristers, consumer protection, legal representation, legal services, news by sally

‘Dr Vanessa Davies, director of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), has made it clear that the regulator will push for more independence in the future.’

Full story

Legalfutures, 12th September 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Standards Board launches consultation on entity authorisation fees – Bar Standards Board

Posted September 12th, 2014 in barristers, consultations, fees, legal services, press releases by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today issued an open consultation paper outlining its ideas on how much it should charge for authorising entities. Entities are organisations that provide advocacy, litigation, and expert legal advice services and which, in this instance, are owned and managed by barristers and other lawyers.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 11th September 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk