Jonathan Barnes KC joined specialist media and communications set 5RB – then 5 Raymond Buildings – in 2000 on completion of pupillage and took silk in 2021. He has acted in a number of cases concerned with online liability. He represented the internet service provider Tiscali in Bunt v Tilley (2006), which confirmed that an ISP could not be deemed to be a ‘publisher’ under English common law. More recently he acted for the claimants in NT1 & NT2 v Google LLC (2018), resulting in the first ‘right to be forgotten’ de-listing order made against Google in England and Wales.
Jonathan Barnes KC and Samuel Rowe assess the outlook for freedom of speech and OFCOM’s role as designated online harms regulator
Jonathan Barnes examines the High Court’s effective monopoly on hearing defamation cases, and against a background of calls for county courts to get involved too asks, WHY NOT?
On October 2011 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the then Draft Defamation Bill considered at paragraph 87 of its First Report that the availability of county courts to hear defamation cases, particularly outside London, should increase accessibility for ordinary citizens and would, in many cases, reduce costs as well. The Committee suggested that the Ministry of Justice should implement a pilot scheme to determine how this proposal might work in practice.
The Bar Council is ready to support a turn to the efficiencies that will make a difference
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the latest ONS data on drug misuse and its implications for toxicology testing in family law cases
An interview with Rob Wagg, CEO of New Park Court Chambers
What meaningful steps can you take in 2026 to advance your legal career? asks Thomas Cowan of St Pauls Chambers
With at least 31 reports of AI hallucinations in UK legal cases – over 800 worldwide – and judges using AI to assist in judicial decision-making, the risks and benefits are impossible to ignore. Matthew Lee examines how different jurisdictions are responding
Ever wondered what a pupillage is like at the CPS? This Q and A provides an insight into the training, experience and next steps
The appointments of 96 new King’s Counsel (also known as silk) are announced today
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
