Features

Minding our standards: in the first of a new column for Counsel, Andrew Walker QC outlines fresh imperatives and initiatives for barristers to enhance their knowledge of ethics in practice and stay ahead of the curve  

A new year brings changes and new ideas to the Bar Council.  

David Wurtzel reveals the story behind the statistics in this year’s Silk list and Abigail Bright imparts sage career advice from an expert panel of women QCs 

No contacts, no mini-pupillage? Dr Elaine Freer examines the state of work experience at the Bar in light of recent guidance for chambers and her own research on socio-economically disadvantaged aspirant entrants  

On its website pages about work experience, the Bar Council states: ‘Mini-pupillages provide an invaluable insight into life as a barrister and may provide some useful contacts to assist you in finding pupillage.  

A digital case revives tragic memories  

'It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lighteneed the day's toil of any human being' – John Stuart Mill 

With the triggering of Art 50 imminent, Mark Hatcher examines preparations in Westminster and Whitehall, with a white paper providing some comfort to the Bar  

Tucked away behind the Old Treasury Building at No 9 Downing Street is the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU).  

The Bar is in danger of losing its distinct legal heritage, warns Clare Cowling – who outlines the considerable research value to be found in chambers records  

Counsel interviews The Secret Barrister, who started out as a counterweight to media misinformation and is the third legal commentator in a row named Independent Blogger of the Year (Comment Awards 2016)  

Where did the inspiration come from for the blog? 

Fees are still too low, but the Bar has developed a better settlement for criminal practitioners to reward advocacy in a fairer and more transparent way. Now it’s up to the profession to make their voices heard and respond to the consultation, as Daniel Oscroft explains  

Ask most criminal barristers to tell you if there is a future at the criminal Bar and you will be told, ‘No’.  

Jonathan Fisher QC and Anita Clifford discuss their recent experiences in Albania where they led a workshop on the challenges presented by tax evasion and money laundering in a transitional economy  

Working in London, as policymakers proceed with implementing the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (‘4MLD’), it is easy to lose sight of the challenges experienced by transitioning democracies in the fight against financial crime.  

HHJ Simon Drew QC and Lynda Gibbs explain why the pan-profession s 28 and ‘advocacy and the vulnerable’ training – being delivered to over 14,000 criminal advocates over the next two years – heralds a sea change  

Twenty-seven years ago, the Pigot Committee proposed a mechanism to allow for the whole of a young child’s evidence to take place out of court, in advance.