Mark Hatcher was Special Adviser to the Chair of the Bar until 2019. After working at the Law Commission and in the House of Lords, he became Head of Global Public Affairs at PwC. He is a Bencher of Middle Temple, as well as being a priest. He is Reader of the Temple.
Mark Hatcher on the General Election, the new Lord Chancellor, members of the Bar elected to the Commons and the first all-Tory meeting of the Cabinet for 18 years
We were seduced into believing there would be a hung Parliament.
Ahead of the General Election, Mark Hatcher takes a look at the main parties’ pledges on justice and considers the impact of a Coalition deal
“There’s no point asking experts… no one knows what’s going to happen… to predict the next general election you may as well play pin the tail on the donkey.”
With Parliament dissolving for the election, Mark Hatcher looks ahead to the manifestos and the importance they place on preserving our system of justice.
The dissolution of the Westminster Parliament on 30 March means that, until a new Parliament is elected on 7 May, there are no MPs for 25 working days.
Mark Hatcher on the Public Accounts Committee and its devastating report into the legal aid reforms.
The veteran Whitehall watcher, Professor Peter Hennessy who now observes the behaviour of mandarins from the cross benches in the House of Lords, once described the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as “the queen of select committees … [which] … by its very existence exerted a cleansing effect in all government departments”.
With the General Election date fixed four years ago, the attention of all at Westminster is now on May 2015.
Mark Hatcher reports on the parties’ plans.
The Ministry of Justice was subjected to an uncomfortable public grilling on civil legal aid by the Public Accounts Committee, reports Mark Hatcher.
When US Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld answered a journalist’s question in 2002 about the lack of evidence linking the government of Iraq with the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups he replied: “Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know.
To legislate or not to legislate?
As the year draws to a close, Mark Hatcher reviews events in Parliament
Mark Hatcher examines the recent by-elections and the resulting fall-out for the political parties.
The next general election is barely 200 days away but in the past few weeks, the village of Westminster has been in the grip of by-election fever.
On the eve of the Scottish referendum, Mark Hatcher reflects on politics either side of the border and conference season for all parties.
When Tip O’Neill, the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, died President Bill Clinton remarked that “he loved politics and government because he saw [they] could make a difference in people’s lives and he loved people most of all.”
Sam Townend KC explains the Bar Council’s efforts towards ensuring a bright future for the profession
Giovanni D’Avola explores the issue of over-citation of unreported cases and the ‘added value’ elements of a law report
Louise Crush explores the key points and opportunities for tax efficiency
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Is now the time to review your financial position, having reached a career milestone? asks Louise Crush
If you were to host a dinner party with 10 guests, and you asked them to explain what financial planning is and how it differs to financial advice, you’d receive 10 different answers. The variety of answers highlights the ongoing need to clarify and promote the value of financial planning.
Most of us like to think we would risk our career in order to meet our ethical obligations, so why have so many lawyers failed to hold the line? asks Flora Page
If your current practice environment is bringing you down, seek a new one. However daunting the change, it will be worth it, says Anon Barrister
Creating advocacy opportunities for juniors is now the expectation but not always easy to put into effect. Tom Mitcheson KC distils developing best practice from the Patents Court initiative already bearing fruit
National courts are now running the bulk of the world’s war crimes cases and corporate prosecutions are part of this growing trend, reports Chris Stephen
Sam Townend KC explains the Bar Council’s efforts towards ensuring a bright future for the profession
