*/
Sierra Leone initiative
A special interest group has been established by the Bar Council under the chairmanship of Mrs Justice Dobbs to co-ordinate the pro bono work being carried out in the Sierra Leonean justice system by UK-based organisations.
Set up by Maura McGowan QC after the commitment to assisting the Bar of Sierra Leone made in her inaugural address, the group intends to help provide advocacy and ethics training in Sierra Leone through the Advocacy Training Council. It will also promote other means of strengthening the legal profession, including arranging mentoring for young lawyers, exchange programmes and assisting in the maintenance and modernisation of law library facilities. Anyone interested in joining the group or becoming a mentor, especially those from West Africa, should email: CHudson@BarCouncil.org.uk.
Project Umubano
Project Umubano, the Conservative Party’s international social action project, is looking for barristers to volunteer to join its trip to Sierra Leone in September this year. The project’s work, which was featured in the November 2012 edition of Counsel, includes training for lawyers and paralegals in a range of subjects. For more information see: www.projectumubano.com or email: projectumubano@live.co.uk.
Most judges escape cuts
Three-quarters of sitting judges will escape cuts to their pensions, the government has confirmed. Judicial pensions are being cut back in line with other public service schemes, but those within 10 years of pension age at 1 April 2012 – around 75% of judges – will continue in their current schemes. The remaining quarter of judges will move into the new scheme from 1 April 2015. A “tapering protection” has been offered to those appointed before 1 April 2012, and who were aged between 51½ and 55 at that date. A High Court judge retiring after 20 years of service would receive £86,500 a year plus a lump sum of £173,000 under the current scheme, compared with £75,000 a year with no lump sum under the new plans.
Set up by Maura McGowan QC after the commitment to assisting the Bar of Sierra Leone made in her inaugural address, the group intends to help provide advocacy and ethics training in Sierra Leone through the Advocacy Training Council. It will also promote other means of strengthening the legal profession, including arranging mentoring for young lawyers, exchange programmes and assisting in the maintenance and modernisation of law library facilities. Anyone interested in joining the group or becoming a mentor, especially those from West Africa, should email: CHudson@BarCouncil.org.uk.
Project Umubano
Project Umubano, the Conservative Party’s international social action project, is looking for barristers to volunteer to join its trip to Sierra Leone in September this year. The project’s work, which was featured in the November 2012 edition of Counsel, includes training for lawyers and paralegals in a range of subjects. For more information see: www.projectumubano.com or email: projectumubano@live.co.uk.
Most judges escape cuts
Three-quarters of sitting judges will escape cuts to their pensions, the government has confirmed. Judicial pensions are being cut back in line with other public service schemes, but those within 10 years of pension age at 1 April 2012 – around 75% of judges – will continue in their current schemes. The remaining quarter of judges will move into the new scheme from 1 April 2015. A “tapering protection” has been offered to those appointed before 1 April 2012, and who were aged between 51½ and 55 at that date. A High Court judge retiring after 20 years of service would receive £86,500 a year plus a lump sum of £173,000 under the current scheme, compared with £75,000 a year with no lump sum under the new plans.
Sierra Leone initiative
A special interest group has been established by the Bar Council under the chairmanship of Mrs Justice Dobbs to co-ordinate the pro bono work being carried out in the Sierra Leonean justice system by UK-based organisations.
A decade of cuts and the brutal pandemic have left courts and barristers struggling to cope – a bid for justice spending
The Lawyers’ Group of the Oasis of Peace UK are delighted to announce that on Thursday, 28 October 2021, Professor Philippe Sands QC will be delivering the 12th Rueff Lecture (via Zoom) entitled ‘Thinking About an International Rule of Law’
Inés Rivera explains how speech technology is transforming policing, courts and prisons
Philip N Bristow explains how to unlock your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step
With the property market witnessing significant changes since the beginning of the pandemic, Fleet Street Wealth’s Managing Director Julian Morgan considers the future of the home, the second home and the office
In partnership with the Bar Council, LexisNexis is offering up to 60% off its extensive webinar offering.
The family law system is in crisis and a failure to recognise it as such demeans the Herculean efforts of all involved, writes Celestine Greenwood, an exhausted family practitioner
Should we cap numbers coming to the Bar? Or help them make data driven decisions? asks IshanKolhatkar
Shifting the taboo, two silks talk about the menopause, its impact on women at the Bar and the need for a profession-wide rethink. By Lyndsey de Mestre QC and Brie Stevens-Hoare QC
In a profession which can be attached to, and defined by, archaic stereotypes, how to be yourself, explore new areas and own your own time? Here are Lennart Poulsen's 'lessons learnt'...
Other sectors have support staff in place for senior professionals, so why not the Bar? An established barrister/VA team and their matchmaker explain how they make it work
