*/
New Bar Council chair Desmond Browne has challenged the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, over the increasing share of available work taken in-house by the CPS.
“The CPS needs to demonstrate that when proper account is taken of all their overheads, it really is cheaper than instructing the self-employed Bar. So far, we have not seen the figures...in the spirit of open government, I would invite them to produce the data and the calculations.”
Browne also reinforced the Bar’s opposition to hourly rates for publicly funded barristers in criminal trials, in his inaugural speech last month.
“Super-human efforts” were required to have a new Very High Cost Criminal Cases scheme outlined and ready for consultation by the New Year if it were to be in place by the time the existing one expires on 13 July 2009. In order to convince barristers that the scheme is workable it must be one that “rewards the efficient and the expeditious, rather than those who merely clock up the largest number of hours,” he said.
“The CPS needs to demonstrate that when proper account is taken of all their overheads, it really is cheaper than instructing the self-employed Bar. So far, we have not seen the figures...in the spirit of open government, I would invite them to produce the data and the calculations.”
Browne also reinforced the Bar’s opposition to hourly rates for publicly funded barristers in criminal trials, in his inaugural speech last month.
“Super-human efforts” were required to have a new Very High Cost Criminal Cases scheme outlined and ready for consultation by the New Year if it were to be in place by the time the existing one expires on 13 July 2009. In order to convince barristers that the scheme is workable it must be one that “rewards the efficient and the expeditious, rather than those who merely clock up the largest number of hours,” he said.
New Bar Council chair Desmond Browne has challenged the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, over the increasing share of available work taken in-house by the CPS.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair of the Bar, sets our course for 2026
What meaningful steps can you take in 2026 to advance your legal career? asks Thomas Cowan of St Pauls Chambers
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, explains why drugs may appear in test results, despite the donor denying use of them
Asks Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
AlphaBiolabs has donated £500 to The Christie Charity through its Giving Back initiative, helping to support cancer care, treatment and research across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and further afield
Q and A with criminal barrister Nick Murphy, who moved to New Park Court Chambers on the North Eastern Circuit in search of a better work-life balance
The appointments of 96 new King’s Counsel (also known as silk) are announced today
Ready for the new way to do tax returns? David Southern KC continues his series explaining the impact on barristers. In part 2, a worked example shows the specific practicalities of adapting to the new system
Resolution of the criminal justice crisis does not lie in reheating old ideas that have been roundly rejected before, say Ed Vickers KC, Faras Baloch and Katie Bacon
With pupillage application season under way, Laura Wright reflects on her route to ‘tech barrister’ and offers advice for those aiming at a career at the Bar
Jury-less trial proposals threaten fairness, legitimacy and democracy without ending the backlog, writes Professor Cheryl Thomas KC (Hon), the UK’s leading expert on juries, judges and courts
