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Following the government’s reshuffle, I was pleased to meet with the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy MP. We had a positive meeting and discussed everything from the recommendations in the Leveson report to the value of legal services and the government’s growth agenda. The Bar Council has worked with the Lord Chancellor in the past and we look forward to working with him again. The justice system requires urgent focused attention and support.
The Law Society has recently published a report about the terrible state of the court infrastructure and its impact. Court buildings across England and Wales have got asbestos and mould, inadequate air conditioning and dilapidated toilets, rotting seagulls and cells that regularly flood with excrement. The State of the Courts report brings into sharp focus the dire need for additional funding and investment. The government should not allow our courts to continue to deteriorate further.
Another report has found that children and families are being let down. Improving Family Court Services for Children, published by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following a Parliamentary inquiry, contains six urgent recommendations for reducing the unacceptable time it takes to reach resolution for children and suggests how to tackle inefficient processes. There can be no doubt that the problems are due to chronic underfunding and the repair and nurture back to health will only be resolved with proper long-term funding.
The family justice system has been failing vulnerable children. Those failures are inimical to the welfare of the children the system seeks to protect. PAC’s recommendations provide a roadmap for change, but they will not deliver the changes needed without comprehensive investment.
The Opening of the Legal Year is a unique and special occasion with a service in Westminster Abbey and procession to Westminster Hall. Lawyers from all over the world convene in London to honour the pivotal role that the judiciary and lawyers play in safeguarding the rule of law.
Along with the Law Society we host an annual Bar and law societies’ leaders’ discussion. This year we focused on the threats faced by the global legal profession and the urgent need to bolster coordination and support. We were able to discuss how to utilise the new Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer and the long-standing UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
There should be no impunity for governments or non-state actors who target our profession. There are distinctive patterns of intimidation and targeting that show we have a collective, global problem in which the profession is facing an increasingly hostile environment.
I am delighted to be taking part in an ‘in conversation’ event with the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr on Tuesday 28 October. We have agreed to come together to explore some of the big issues currently facing the justice system, the Bar and the Bench. I hope you will be able to join us on the night at Inner Temple. (Book here.)
I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting an event in London focused on wellbeing at the Bar. The event will take place on Thursday 13 November from 6-8.30pm. I want to be able to reflect on the collective progress we have made to date on supporting barristers to build healthier, more sustainable working practices and I want to set out the next steps for this important project.
The evening will also include a practical workshop delivered by two leading wellbeing experts. They will share helpful tools, insights and techniques to enhance resilience, improve work-life balance and help you to embed positive habits that will support the Bar’s long-term collective professional wellbeing. (Book here.)
At the Bar Council meeting in September, members unanimously accepted the 36 recommendations of Baroness Harman’s report on bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar. Following its launch, the report has been widely welcomed, and the Inns have announced the establishment of a joint working group to consider the recommendations. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the review, especially the barristers, Circuits, Inns and specialist Bar associations that have all embraced the challenge we have of changing the culture for the better at the Bar. There is still much work to do.
Barbara Mills KC is the 2025 Chair of the Bar. She is a specialist family practitioner at 4PB and former Co-Chair of the Bar Council’s Race Working Group.
Following the government’s reshuffle, I was pleased to meet with the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy MP. We had a positive meeting and discussed everything from the recommendations in the Leveson report to the value of legal services and the government’s growth agenda. The Bar Council has worked with the Lord Chancellor in the past and we look forward to working with him again. The justice system requires urgent focused attention and support.
The Law Society has recently published a report about the terrible state of the court infrastructure and its impact. Court buildings across England and Wales have got asbestos and mould, inadequate air conditioning and dilapidated toilets, rotting seagulls and cells that regularly flood with excrement. The State of the Courts report brings into sharp focus the dire need for additional funding and investment. The government should not allow our courts to continue to deteriorate further.
Another report has found that children and families are being let down. Improving Family Court Services for Children, published by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) following a Parliamentary inquiry, contains six urgent recommendations for reducing the unacceptable time it takes to reach resolution for children and suggests how to tackle inefficient processes. There can be no doubt that the problems are due to chronic underfunding and the repair and nurture back to health will only be resolved with proper long-term funding.
The family justice system has been failing vulnerable children. Those failures are inimical to the welfare of the children the system seeks to protect. PAC’s recommendations provide a roadmap for change, but they will not deliver the changes needed without comprehensive investment.
The Opening of the Legal Year is a unique and special occasion with a service in Westminster Abbey and procession to Westminster Hall. Lawyers from all over the world convene in London to honour the pivotal role that the judiciary and lawyers play in safeguarding the rule of law.
Along with the Law Society we host an annual Bar and law societies’ leaders’ discussion. This year we focused on the threats faced by the global legal profession and the urgent need to bolster coordination and support. We were able to discuss how to utilise the new Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer and the long-standing UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
There should be no impunity for governments or non-state actors who target our profession. There are distinctive patterns of intimidation and targeting that show we have a collective, global problem in which the profession is facing an increasingly hostile environment.
I am delighted to be taking part in an ‘in conversation’ event with the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr on Tuesday 28 October. We have agreed to come together to explore some of the big issues currently facing the justice system, the Bar and the Bench. I hope you will be able to join us on the night at Inner Temple. (Book here.)
I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting an event in London focused on wellbeing at the Bar. The event will take place on Thursday 13 November from 6-8.30pm. I want to be able to reflect on the collective progress we have made to date on supporting barristers to build healthier, more sustainable working practices and I want to set out the next steps for this important project.
The evening will also include a practical workshop delivered by two leading wellbeing experts. They will share helpful tools, insights and techniques to enhance resilience, improve work-life balance and help you to embed positive habits that will support the Bar’s long-term collective professional wellbeing. (Book here.)
At the Bar Council meeting in September, members unanimously accepted the 36 recommendations of Baroness Harman’s report on bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar. Following its launch, the report has been widely welcomed, and the Inns have announced the establishment of a joint working group to consider the recommendations. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the review, especially the barristers, Circuits, Inns and specialist Bar associations that have all embraced the challenge we have of changing the culture for the better at the Bar. There is still much work to do.
Chair of the Bar reports back
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, outlines the drug and alcohol testing options available for family law professionals, and how a new, free guide can help identify the most appropriate testing method for each specific case
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the latest ONS data on drug misuse and its implications for toxicology testing in family law cases
Responding to criticism on the narrow profile of government-instructed counsel, Mel Nebhrajani CB describes the system-wide change at GLD to drive fairer distribution of work and broader development of talent
The odds of success are as unforgiving as ever, but ambition clearly isn’t in short supply. David Wurtzel’s annual deep‑dive into the competition cohort shows who’s entering, who’s thriving and the trends that will define the next wave
Where to start and where to find help? Monisha Shah, Chair of the King’s Counsel Selection Panel, provides an overview of the silk selection process, debunking some myths along the way
Do chatbot providers owe a duty of care for negligent misstatements? Jasper Wong suggests that the principles applicable to humans should apply equally to machines
There is no typical day in the life as a Supreme Court judicial assistant, says Josephine Gillingwater, and that’s what makes the role so enjoyably diverse
