A seminar held by the JAC and chaired by Baroness Prashar was held in July to consider ways to attract a wider pool of judicial applicants. They agreed to expand the Bar Council’s circuit mentoring scheme to focus more on candidates from a wider range of groups; introduce a mentoring scheme for solicitors interested in judicial office; and to film a mock role-play to help prepare candidates for the selection process, to be funded by the JAC and the Law Society with the support of the Black Solicitors’ Network. Ingrid Simler QC, chair of the Bar Council’s Equality and Diversity Committee, said: “We will continue to give priority to retaining a more diverse membership, encouraging applications for judicial appointments from those qualified and to work with the JAC and others to make faster progress towards a diverse judiciary.”