Grilling Richard Atkins QC on his fears and aspirations for the year ahead, The Secret Barrister finds a crusader chair with an ambitious and overarching aim
New terms of engagement: the first Dean of Education at Inner Temple, whose research on juries, judges and courts continues to break ground, turns her empirical eye towards a fresh vision of lifelong learning for the Bar
As 2018 draws to a close, Mark Hatcher reflects on Brexit’s heavy toll, a tumultuous year at Westminster and a glimmer of hope for the criminal justice system
Access, development and diversification
Sign up, nail those competencies and rise to the challenge: John Kimbell QC and Brie Hoare-Stevens QC have advice for first-time applicants to the judiciary
Nicky Padfield QC chose Africa over pupillage, an academic career enriched with Recordership, and became a Master of firsts at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. Vocal on sentencing, parole and recall, the professor talks to Anthony Inglese
Interviewee turns interviewer in the new Counsel series Passing the Brief. Here Sarah Vine spends some time bathing in the reflected glory of The Lawyer 2018 Barrister of the Year, Julia Smart
Desiree Artesi sits down with the Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC MP in the week the Prime Minister was poised to lay the draft Brexit deal before Parliament
A murder in north London, a VAT fraud in the Midlands and the importation of firearms and class A drugs. Richard Jory QC examines three seemingly unrelated cases, all connected by one underlying feature: an uncontrolled addiction to gambling
The bakery may have won its appeal, but where will it all end? Daphne Romney QC examines the Supreme Court decision in Lee v Ashers Bakery Company Ltd
Hybrid – home and CWJ’s Bethnal Green office, London
Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) is recruiting paralegals with feminist values to join its new Independent Legal Advice service.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
Susie Griffin on the admin that keeps barristers from billable work
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, discusses what family law professionals need to know about hallucinogens, from the main hallucinogenic drugs encountered in family proceedings, to their effects and the testing options available
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
By David Green
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
In an era of patient-centred care and growing concern over misconduct in medical settings, why do women still lack the right to choose women consultants for examination and treatment? Charles Davey investigates
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC