Features

David Wurtzel meets Sir Michael Pitt, the successor to David Edmonds as Chairman of the Legal Services Board, and reports back to Counsel on a man the Bar can talk to.  

Sir Michael Pitt is such a courteous and welcoming interviewee, it seemed churlish to mention the hostility which many at the Bar feel towards the Legal Services Board, of which he has been Chairman since 1 May. From client letters to QASA, barristers like to say that they are “over-regulated”. 

Celebrating excellence  

Key Facts 

Date: Saturday 8 November 2014 

Time: 08:00–18:00 

Cost: Prices start from £125 

CPD: Up to 5 points 

Venue: Westminster Park Plaza, 

200 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7UT 

Do the Inns of Court need to change to stay relevant and can they meet the needs of the next generation of barristers? In an article based upon his recent speech to Middle Temple, Lord Judge refl ects upon their future.  

My thesis this evening comes from Di Lampedusa: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.” 

Mark Hatcher examines the recent by-elections and the resulting fall-out for the political parties.  

The next general election is barely 200 days away but in the past few weeks, the village of Westminster has been in the grip of by-election fever. 

Emily Henderson looks at the cross-examining of vulnerable witnesses and asks whether this supposed jewel in the adversarial crown is being successfully reformed by the courts.  

Conventionally, cross-examination is regarded as the jewel in the adversarial crown. However, 30 years of empirical research has shown it to be highly unreliable as a means of investigating the evidence of vulnerable people in particular. 

Regaining the art of co-operation: Andrew Ritchie QC on the case for arbitration for personal injury and clinical negligence claims.  

Many shipping, building and commercial disputes are resolved by arbitration. So why is arbitration not used to resolve personal injury and clinical negligence claims? 

Illari Aragón explains the importance of this December’s Conference of the Parties (COP 20) in Peru and the pursuit of a new climate change agreement.  

In December this year representatives of the world will convene in Lima, Peru, in an attempt to reach a new climate agreement to curb emissions of greenhouse gases and to deal with the impacts of climate change. 

The decision of the Privy Council in Fairfield Sentry v Migani is of considerable importance to funds which employ certification mechanisms.   

It will also be of note in relation to instruments employing market-based triggers, for example convertible loan notes. Here we discuss the implications of the decision for certification and those responsible for issuing such certificates. 

Imminent reform of the rules of jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments in the European Union.  

A revised regime of jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments will apply in the EU to proceedings commenced on or after 15 January 2015. This article considers key changes introduced by the recast Judgments Regulation and comments on their efficacy. 

Helen Tung and Laura Newton report on their time in a Korean law firm on the Bar Council placement programme.  

From 28 April to 9 May 2014, six English barristers represented the Bar of England and Wales on an exchange programme organised jointly by the Bar Council and the Korean Bar Association (KBA).