*/
Profession
Public access barrister training is to be overhauled, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has announced.
Course content will be reviewed in light of a proposed rule change to widen the public access scheme to legal aid clients, and to allow barristers of less than three years’ standing to do public access work. An application to the Legal Services Board to incorporate these changes into the Code of Conduct was due to be made in February.
Under the changes, public access barristers with less than three years’ practising experience will now need to keep a log of cases – a move designed to assist learning and help the BSB monitor risks to the public. Formal assessment will also be introduced. Barristers who have already taken the training will either have to take a top-up course or apply for a waiver within 24 months of the new training being made available.
BSB figures show 5,429 barristers have undertaken the course and 4,595 are registered as public access barristers. A survey of those who had received the training revealed they wanted more information on how to identify when it would be in the interests of more vulnerable clients to instruct via a solicitor.
Meanwhile, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has announced a research project to explore the experiences of consumers in the legal services sector who have learning disabilities.
Course content will be reviewed in light of a proposed rule change to widen the public access scheme to legal aid clients, and to allow barristers of less than three years’ standing to do public access work. An application to the Legal Services Board to incorporate these changes into the Code of Conduct was due to be made in February.
Under the changes, public access barristers with less than three years’ practising experience will now need to keep a log of cases – a move designed to assist learning and help the BSB monitor risks to the public. Formal assessment will also be introduced. Barristers who have already taken the training will either have to take a top-up course or apply for a waiver within 24 months of the new training being made available.
BSB figures show 5,429 barristers have undertaken the course and 4,595 are registered as public access barristers. A survey of those who had received the training revealed they wanted more information on how to identify when it would be in the interests of more vulnerable clients to instruct via a solicitor.
Meanwhile, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has announced a research project to explore the experiences of consumers in the legal services sector who have learning disabilities.
Profession
Public access barrister training is to be overhauled, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has announced.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group
Modernising communication and collaboration at a leading Chancery set. A Zexi case study
How to build profile without compromising professional duties. By Naumaan Farooq, Co-Founder of Inked PR
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the role of cut-off levels, and the wider range of factors that must be considered when interpreting results for family court proceedings
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
The case against judge-only justice – and why efficiency is not enough. By Professor Leslie Thomas KC
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Seeing the full picture – Baljit Ubhey OBE outlines the CPS action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, offering insights directly relevant to courtroom practice
Lauren Fullerton examines the how, what and why of setting up a second chambers base
