News

Profession

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has predicted a rise in the number of litigants in person and set out a series of steps to tackle the challenges this will present.

Family law

“If they had not had legal aid, they’d be dead”, asserted Ruth Bond, Chair of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, when explaining the problems of  physically abused women at the second Bar Debate, “Broken Britain, broken families: What next?” held in the Large Pension Room at Gray’s Inn on 16 November. It was an opportunity for the panel to put forward matters on which they felt strongly.

Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) applications are now open as of Monday 7 November at 09:00. The first round deadline is Thursday 12 January at 14:00.

The BSB has recently amended the IELTS rule for those who wish to commence the BPTC in September 2012. One of the entry requirements for the BPTC is that students are fluent in English. Applicants should therefore be able to demonstrate that their oral and written English language ability is at least equivalent to:

Civil Litigation

Michael Todd QC, Chairman-elect of the Bar Council, is to set up a working group in the New Year to draw up proposals to modernise civil litigation.

Supreme Court

Family lawyers have renewed calls for legislative reform following a unanimous ruling by the Justices on the property rights of unmarried couples.

Profession

Judges may use Ipads rather than judicial notebooks in future years, while evidence in court is likely to become more electronically-based.

The BSB engaged with barristers across England and Wales in November, specifically to discuss the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (‘QASA’ or ‘the Scheme’).

Profession

Employment law barrister Shereener Browne of Garden Court Chambers has won the annual Bar Pro Bono award.

European Contract Law

On 11 October, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation creating a European Sales law, together with a package of supporting documents. See: http://bit.ly/tzxu1V