INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE SEMINAR AT THE YOUNG BAR INTERNATIONAL WEEKEND
On Saturday 25 September, in the Victorian splendour of the Law Society, International Committee member Amanda Pinto QC spoke - rather subversively bearing in mind the venue - to a varied and interested audience of young lawyers from around the world, about how to instruct the Bar and the benefits of coming directly to the Bar.
The talk provoked an interesting discussion of the functions of the International Committee of the Bar Council, including its importance in upholding and promoting the rule of law internationally and how, by working together with other Bars, it can improve justice and legal services throughout the world. The practicalities of instructing barristers from overseas (Hong Kong and Serbia, to take but two examples) were considered and the debate closed with an intervention by an Irish lawyer, favouring use of the Bar over solicitors for advocacy, in spite of a similar higher court advocacy scheme for solicitors in Eire. A frank and cosmopolitan exchange of ideas resulted, happily for the speaker, in impressive English by the delegates.
