*/
Solicitors should explain their reasons for recommending a particular advocate and sign a declaration that they have explained the choices available to their lay client, the Bar Council has said.
Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation Preserving and Enhancing the Quality of Criminal Advocacy, the Bar backed plans for a referral fee ban and urged the Government to outlaw all inducements. The only consideration, it said, should be the quality of the advocate.
It also called for a Solicitor Regulation Authority-style reporting service through which advocates and others could confidentially report referral fee breaches.
Former Bar Chairman, Alistair MacDonald QC, said: ‘It is a matter of principle that public funds provided to pay for advocacy services should not be used to pay for kickbacks.’
The Bar Council supported the Government’s proposal for a criminal defence advocacy panel, loosely based on the Crown Prosecution Service model, so long as safeguards are put in place to ensure it operates effectively and is independent of government.
It also backed calls for solicitors to sign a declaration confirming that clients have been fully informed about the choice of advocate available to them, and suggested that solicitors provide a ‘brief explanation’ of why the type of advocate has been recommended and obtain signed confirmation that their clients have been advised of their right to choose, in plain and clear language.
MacDonald said: ‘Any declaration must require a litigator’s signature. There are serious contractual and professional consequences if a litigator is found to have lied on a signed declaration. This can’t be a tick box exercise.’
However, the Bar Council did not support the proposal to prevent solicitors from instructing advocates employed in their own firms, so long as they were the best person available to conduct the advocacy in a particular case – a proposal that the Law Society also slammed.
Solicitors should explain their reasons for recommending a particular advocate and sign a declaration that they have explained the choices available to their lay client, the Bar Council has said.
Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation Preserving and Enhancing the Quality of Criminal Advocacy, the Bar backed plans for a referral fee ban and urged the Government to outlaw all inducements. The only consideration, it said, should be the quality of the advocate.
It also called for a Solicitor Regulation Authority-style reporting service through which advocates and others could confidentially report referral fee breaches.
Former Bar Chairman, Alistair MacDonald QC, said: ‘It is a matter of principle that public funds provided to pay for advocacy services should not be used to pay for kickbacks.’
The Bar Council supported the Government’s proposal for a criminal defence advocacy panel, loosely based on the Crown Prosecution Service model, so long as safeguards are put in place to ensure it operates effectively and is independent of government.
It also backed calls for solicitors to sign a declaration confirming that clients have been fully informed about the choice of advocate available to them, and suggested that solicitors provide a ‘brief explanation’ of why the type of advocate has been recommended and obtain signed confirmation that their clients have been advised of their right to choose, in plain and clear language.
MacDonald said: ‘Any declaration must require a litigator’s signature. There are serious contractual and professional consequences if a litigator is found to have lied on a signed declaration. This can’t be a tick box exercise.’
However, the Bar Council did not support the proposal to prevent solicitors from instructing advocates employed in their own firms, so long as they were the best person available to conduct the advocacy in a particular case – a proposal that the Law Society also slammed.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group
Modernising communication and collaboration at a leading Chancery set. A Zexi case study
How to build profile without compromising professional duties. By Naumaan Farooq, Co-Founder of Inked PR
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the role of cut-off levels, and the wider range of factors that must be considered when interpreting results for family court proceedings
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
The case against judge-only justice – and why efficiency is not enough. By Professor Leslie Thomas KC
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Seeing the full picture – Baljit Ubhey OBE outlines the CPS action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, offering insights directly relevant to courtroom practice
Lauren Fullerton examines the how, what and why of setting up a second chambers base
