News

Criminal bar

Criminal barristers could resort to “stopping the courts” in protest at low fees and delays in payment, Criminal Bar Association (CBA) chair Max Hill QC has warned.  A CBA survey of its members found 89 per cent of those who responded favoured “lawful” protest action, such as not attending court, while a similar number would consider refusing to take on new cases. About half of the CBA’s membership responded to the survey.

company law

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) – under which companies are offered a chance to ‘self-report’ - could be introduced to help tackle economic crime.  The Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General’s Office have published a joint consultation paper on the proposal, ‘Deferred Prosecution Agreements’. Interested parties must submit their responses by 9 August 2012.

international

Barristers are invited to take part in a barefoot campaign as an act of solidarity with lawyers imprisoned or murdered simply for carrying out their professional duty.  On 12 November – Barefoot Lawyer Day – they are asked to join with legal professionals across the world, take off their shoes and socks, take a photo of themselves as barefooted lawyers and post it on twitter @tweetlawfeet or a facebook page of the same name. They can also support the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31796.

All practising barristers are subject to CPD in 2012. If you have not received details about your CPD obligations or are unsure of them, please contact Rachel Reeves, Training Compliance Officer on 020 7611 1444 or rreeves@barstandardsboard.org.uk

profession

The Lord Chief Justice led more than 6000 barristers, judges, clerks, solicitors and law students on this year’s London Legal Walk in aid of charity. They followed a 10km route from the Royal Courts of Justice to the Law Society - technically around the corner but they went via St. James’s Park and Hyde Park.

profession

‘Access to the legal profession and reforming legal education and training’ was the theme of the Westminster Legal Policy Forum on 22nd May. Those involved in the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) and those who are working towards social mobility and diversity in the legal workplace and in the judiciary were there to report and to answer questions.

legal aid

Lawyers gave Doreen Lawrence and solicitor Imran Khan a standing ovation for their contribution to justice at the 2012 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards. 

profession

Judge Peter Thornton QC has been appointed the first chief coroner of England and Wales.  Thornton, who takes up his new role in September, has been a senior circuit judge at the Old Bailey since 2007, and led the inquest of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson, who died during the 2009 G20 protests in London.

profession

‘It is clear that the legal sector is starting to make real efforts to address fair access and social mobility’, is a conclusion of the Independent Reviewer on Social Mobility and Child Poverty, Rt. Hon Alan Milburn, in his May 2012 progress report.  However, ‘the further up the profession you go, the more socially exclusive it becomes.

Bar standards board

Significant progress has been made towards finalising the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) in relation to criminal advocacy and the Bar Standards Board has confirmed that the full Scheme will go live with a phased implementation based on Circuits in early January 2013.