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The new Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), Paul Mendelle QC, has called for the Government to re-think its approach towards the publicly-funded Bar.
He is taking over as Chairman of the CBA, which represents over 3,600 criminal barristers and is the largest specialist bar association in England and Wales. Commenting on the year ahead, Mr Mendelle said:
“I am acutely aware of the challenges which face the Criminal Bar. Self-employed, publicly-funded barristers work incredibly hard and their very long hours of work outside the court sitting day are rarely seen or appreciated by critics. They provide highly-skilled, cost-effective advocacy to the public and that we possess a criminal justice system of such fairness is in large part due to the excellence of the representation available equally to both prosecution and defence.
My task in the next twelve months will be to work with Government and other agencies to protect the public interest in maintaining this standard so that all members of society, especially the most vulnerable, have proper representation when they are involved in the justice system.”
Mr Mendelle begins his year-long term just days after the Ministry of Justice announced plans to cut the legal aid budget further, slashing the rates for defence work.
Mr Mendelle said of these plans:
“Ill-considered and cavalier cuts, such as those proposed recently, seek to drag defence fees down to levels that are already considered by many to be inadequate. They will fall heavily on younger barristers, most of whom are burdened by the large debt they incurred in higher education before coming to the Bar. This will result in fewer and fewer talented young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, practising at the publicly-funded Bar, and will greatly reduce diversity in the profession, something which the CBA has worked so hard to promote. The legal landscape is changing ever more quickly in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007; indeed, the Ministry of Justice appears to have torn up the recommendations for incremental and considered change set out in the Carter Report 2006.
As Chairman of the CBA part of my role is to try to help steer the Criminal Bar through these challenging times. The Bar has modernised and will continue to modernise, responding quickly and effectively in a rapidly-changing environment, but change must never be imposed at the expense of the justice system of which we are so rightly proud.”
“I am acutely aware of the challenges which face the Criminal Bar. Self-employed, publicly-funded barristers work incredibly hard and their very long hours of work outside the court sitting day are rarely seen or appreciated by critics. They provide highly-skilled, cost-effective advocacy to the public and that we possess a criminal justice system of such fairness is in large part due to the excellence of the representation available equally to both prosecution and defence.
My task in the next twelve months will be to work with Government and other agencies to protect the public interest in maintaining this standard so that all members of society, especially the most vulnerable, have proper representation when they are involved in the justice system.”
Mr Mendelle begins his year-long term just days after the Ministry of Justice announced plans to cut the legal aid budget further, slashing the rates for defence work.
Mr Mendelle said of these plans:
“Ill-considered and cavalier cuts, such as those proposed recently, seek to drag defence fees down to levels that are already considered by many to be inadequate. They will fall heavily on younger barristers, most of whom are burdened by the large debt they incurred in higher education before coming to the Bar. This will result in fewer and fewer talented young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, practising at the publicly-funded Bar, and will greatly reduce diversity in the profession, something which the CBA has worked so hard to promote. The legal landscape is changing ever more quickly in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007; indeed, the Ministry of Justice appears to have torn up the recommendations for incremental and considered change set out in the Carter Report 2006.
As Chairman of the CBA part of my role is to try to help steer the Criminal Bar through these challenging times. The Bar has modernised and will continue to modernise, responding quickly and effectively in a rapidly-changing environment, but change must never be imposed at the expense of the justice system of which we are so rightly proud.”
The new Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), Paul Mendelle QC, has called for the Government to re-think its approach towards the publicly-funded Bar.
He is taking over as Chairman of the CBA, which represents over 3,600 criminal barristers and is the largest specialist bar association in England and Wales. Commenting on the year ahead, Mr Mendelle said:
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