Features

Jonathan Sumption QC, a JAC Commissioner, admits he was initially opposed to written qualifying tests for judicial appointments. But experience has persuaded him that they are less imperfect than any reasonable alternative.  

Written qualifying tests are now an established part of the procedures used by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). If you intend to apply for any judicial office below the level of Senior Circuit Judge, the likelihood is that you will have to sit a test at the outset of the exercise. These tests are unpopular among barristers for a variety of reasons, some good and some bad. You may therefore think it perverse of me to be writing an article whose main purpose is to persuade you to sign up for more. 

Peter Smith reports on the challenges and opportunities of life after pupillage.  

After the expense and effort of the academic and practical legal education, and with your heart set on a life of advocacy and self-employment, being rejected from chambers can be an incredibly disheartening experience. 

Charles Hale and Toby Craig reflect on history and the speed of change. 

The laws of nature may not be challengeable. The laws of man must always be. The shocking events following the huge earthquakes in New Zealand and in Japan followed by the terrifying tsunami served as a timely reminder of the fragility of the infrastructure which we can all sometimes cling to. 

Strategic planning can ease the burden of escalating school and university fees. Elizabeth Davidson considers the financial weaponry on offer

There’s no denying the high cost of bringing up children. The thought of unnecessarily adding school fees sends shivers down backs. The potential tripling of university fees, regardless of when they need to be paid back, is creating yet more anxiety. Given proper planning and preparation, however, it may all be far more affordable than anticipated. 

This summer’s production of Judgment at Nuremberg will put history and budding legal thespians in the spotlight. John Cooper QC meets the director, Sally Knyvette, for the inside story.  

When I walked into the rehearsal room at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn, London, I found Sally Knyvette already sitting at the table waiting for the first audition to begin. I was glad that I was early for the interview, because had I been late, I instinctively felt that she would not have been pleased. I was right. “When I am working with people, I expect professionalism and that includes being on time,” she explained. 

William Byfield, Gutteridge Chambers

Hard times spawn a yearning for the luxuries of yesteryears and an unexpected flirtation

14 March 2011: Change and decay in all around I see: O thou who changest not, abide with me! ...

It is often said nowadays that the Bar is not the joy it once was - “fun” is the word actually used but it has a certain frivolous connotation best avoided in works of record such as this.  

Job title
Head of Chambers, 12 Gray's Inn Square

Qualifications
Admitted as a Solicitor in 1966. Appointed Silk 1997

CV
Chosen as one of the UK's "go to people" for international arbitration and was involved in the drafting of the 1996 Arbitration Act.  12 Gray's Inn Square starts practising as of 15 April and is one of the first examples of an alternative business structure (ABS) at the Bar.  

To have one woman as Master Treasurer of an Inn is an event; to have three in one year may be seen as progress. David Wurtzel salutes the new appointments

2011 marks the year in which at Middle Temple, Professor Dawn Oliver is Master Treasurer and in which at Inner Temple, Lady Justice Hallett is Master Treasurer and HRH The Princess Royal is Royal Treasurer. 

As it strives to ensure “excellence in advocacy” for all barristers in England and Wales, the Advocacy Training Council is finding itself with a rapidly expanding role as Charles Haddon-Cave QC explains.  

Advocacy is the defining specialist skill which sets barristers apart from other legal practitioners. The role of the Advocacy Training Council (ATC) is to help ensure “excellence in advocacy” by barristers across the whole Bar of England and Wales and to ensure they receive the best possible advocacy training and support at all levels. 

In the wake of Julian Assange’s ongoing struggle against extradition, Sarah Lewis questions the UK’s willingness to accept European arrest warrant procedures at face value

The case of Julian Assange has put the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) under the spotlight. As a mechanism by which wanted individuals can be extradited from one EU member state to another, the EAW has been hailed as a valuable and successful instrument, cutting the delays and red tape associated with traditional extradition methods that have, in certain circumstances, enabled criminals and those suspected of committing crimes to remain beyond the reach of the law.