BSB publishes its Report on Diversity at the Bar 2022 – Bar Standards Board

Posted January 30th, 2023 in barristers, diversity, equality, news, statistics by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published a summary of the latest available diversity data for the Bar. Overall, the data shows the continuation in 2022 of several longer-term trends, including an increase in the proportion of practising barristers who are female; who are from a minority ethnic background; who have primary care of a child; who have a disability; and who are aged 55 or more. The most noticeable increase was a rise of 3.3 percentage points in the proportion of pupils who are female to 59.9 per cent.’

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Bar Standards Board, 27th January 2023

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

BSB to commission independent review of enforcement processes – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is to commission an “independent end-to-end” review of its enforcement processes in a bid to improve its much-criticised performance.’

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Legal Futures, 27th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Raab faces judicial review over criminal legal aid fees – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Law Society has issued an ultimatum to lord chancellor Dominic Raab over criminal legal aid fees: increase them by the minimum amount recommended by the government-commissioned Bellamy review or face a judicial review.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

BSB performance in the red as LSB raises SRA enforcement concerns – Legal Futures

Posted January 12th, 2023 in barristers, complaints, news, standards by sally

‘Pressure on the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to improve its performance ratcheted up today after it scored by far the worst of all the legal regulators in the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) annual assessment.’

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Legal Futures, 12th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Prosecution crisis ‘will deepen’ without fee increase, CBA chief warns – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Ministry of Justice has hailed the “significant progress” that has been made since the government published its landmark rape review action plan – however, the Criminal Bar Association has warned that complainants will continue to wait years for a trial unless prosecutors’ fees are increased.’

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Law Society's Gazette,15th December 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barristers set to pay the price for BSB performance problems – Legal Futures

Posted December 15th, 2022 in barristers, budgets, fees, news, recruitment, remuneration by tracey

‘The poor performance of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) is set to hit barristers in the pocket as it seeks to increase salaries to overcome recruitment and retention difficulties.’

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Legal Futures, 15th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Big disparity in Bar course pass rates across providers – Legal Futures

Posted December 12th, 2022 in barristers, examinations, legal education, news, pupillage, statistics by sally

‘There is a significant attainment gap between providers of the Bar training course, ranging from a pass rate of 94% at the highest to 49% at the lowest.’

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Legal Futures, 12th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Inns under fire for sluggish approach to disability access – Legal Futures

‘The inns of court are slow to act on behalf of disabled barristers and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) is to set push them to improve access in listed buildings, an event to mark the launch of the Bar’s Disability Taskforce heard last week.’

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Legal Futures, 12th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar regulator faces formal LSB action over performance crisis – Legal Futures

‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has begun talking about taking formal action against the Bar Standards Board (BSB) over shortcomings in its performance, which it has emerged include how it has dealt with the Post Office scandal.’

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Legal Futures, 7th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

BSB mulls SLAPPs guidance as Zahawi’s solicitors are referred to SRA – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is considering following the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in issuing guidance on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).’

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Legal Futures, 5th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Race at the Bar progress report: Much to celebrate, much more to do – The Bar Council

Posted December 2nd, 2022 in barristers, diversity, equality, news, race discrimination, statistics by tracey

‘One year on from the ground-breaking Race at the Bar report, the Bar Council has published an interim progress report on action being taken across the Bar to address race inequality.’

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The Bar Council, 30th November 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Access denied: The state of the justice system in England and Wales in 2022 – The Bar Council

Posted November 28th, 2022 in barristers, budgets, civil justice, criminal justice, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘Access denied: The state of the justice system in England and Wales in 2022.’

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The Bar Council, 25th November 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

News focus: Legal aid pay rises would stoke inflation – Raab – Law Society’s Gazette

‘With the government set to unveil its full response to the Bellamy legal aid review, lord chancellor Dominic Raab says extra cash for solicitors is unlikely. The prospect of industrial action still looms.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25thNovember 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Is the conviction sound? No’: lawyer vows to prove Michael Stone’s innocence – The Guardian

‘Mark McDonald believes Russell murders case will turn out to be a serious miscarriage of justice.’

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The Guardian, 27th November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rude judge? Don’t just shrug your shoulders, says LCJ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 25th, 2022 in barristers, codes of practice, complaints, judges, judiciary, news by tracey

‘Lawyers should raise complaints about a rude judge at an early stage rather than let the problem grow and fester, the lord chief justice has told the Bar Council’s flagship conference.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th November 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Bar Council piles pressure on BSB over Dinah Rose case – Legal Futures

Posted November 24th, 2022 in barristers, complaints, disciplinary procedures, news by sally

‘The Bar Council has taken the unusual step of criticising the Bar Standards Board (BSB) for its “unacceptable and inexcusable” handling of a complaint against Dinah Rose KC.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

More cash for solicitors? Not the right thing to do – Raab – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Lord chancellor Dominic Raab has signalled that he will not be announcing extra cash for solicitors when the government’s response to the Bellamy legal aid review is published next week.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd November 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Awaab Ishak’s death shed light on a social housing scandal. Now we have a brief chance to fix it – The Guardian

‘A two-year-old died after exposure to mould in his house in Rochdale. We must ensure no other family suffers like this.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Burnett: “I can’t magic up lawyers to help reduce Crown Court backlog” – Legal Futures

‘It will be “very difficult” for the Crown Court to achieve the government’s target of reducing the backlog to 53,000 cases by 2025, the Lord Chief Justice has warned MPs.’

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Legal Futures, 9th November 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Neurodivergence in the CJS and the role of the Bar (1) – Counsel

Posted November 8th, 2022 in autism, barristers, criminal justice, disabled persons, diversity, dyslexia, news by sally

‘Thinking differently, engaging differently: the first of this two-part series by Dr Tom Smith looks at the experience of neurodivergent individuals in the criminal justice system and how barristers can mitigate/aggravate the challenges.’

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Counsel, November 2022

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk