News

Mr Justice Munby has been appointed Chairman of the Law Commission for England and Wales for the next three years from 1 August. Munby J was called to the Bar in 1971, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1988 and a High Court judge in 2000, assigned to the Family Division and the Administrative Court. He succeeds Lord Justice Etherton. 

Regulations and a “lack of understanding” have led to a shortage of pupillages at the employed Bar. 

The Bar Council was pleased to host Ms Wu Aiying, the Chinese Justice Minister, along with their partners in the Lord Chancellors Training Scheme (LCTS), the Law Society, during her brief visit to England at the end of July. The China Law Council co-chairmen Adrian Hughes QC and Neil Sampson briefly met the minister and her delegation before welcoming her to a reception in Middle Temple. Desmond Browne QC congratulated the LCTS partners on the successful twenty year collaboration between the professions through the LCTS programme and continued engagement with its alumni and expressed the Bar’s commitment to continue working together with the Chinese Ministry of Justice and young leaders of their profession. The reception was well attended by barristers, solicitors and the LCTS Chinese lawyers. Madam Wu enjoyed meeting the guests and learning about the experiences of the LCTS lawyers in London. The reception strengthened the Bar’s relationship with the Chinese Ministry of Justice, a key partner in the LCTS programme.

EACH year, fifteen Chinese lawyers participate in the Lord Chancellor’s Training Scheme for Young Chinese Lawyers (LCTS). 

The Bar Council and Law Society were delighted to formally welcome this year’s LCTS lawyers at a reception held at the Law Society. 

The LCTS was launched in 2001. The 15 candidates who will take part this year are highly regarded practising commercial lawyers between the ages of 25 and 40. The programme consists of an academic programme at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and practical placements in law firms and chambers. This enables the Chinese lawyers to gain an understanding of English law and the English legal system and obtain practical experience in commercial law, litigation and court procedure as well as the management of a legal practice. 

The full press release is available on the Bar Council website. (www.barcouncil.org.uk) 

This event is the third in a series of annual lectures on current challenges facing the rule of law around the world, organised by the International Committee of the Bar Council. The title of this year’s lecture is “The progressive erosion of the Rule of Law in Independent Zimbabwe”, and will be given by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, Judge Anthony Gubbay. The lecture will be held in Inner Temple Hall on Wednesday 9 December 2009 from 6.00pm and will be followed by Q&A and a drinks reception. 

The lecture is accredited by the BSB with 1.5 CPD points for barristers There is no charge for admission. Space is limited, so if interested in attending please register by Friday 20 November with Rukaiya Bhegani at RBhegani@BarCouncil.org.uk or on 0207 611 1357. 

The Chair of the Bar Standards Board, Baroness Ruth Deech, gave a presentation to the Council of the Inns of Court (COIC) about the BSB’s vision on 29 July. Baroness Deech emphasised that the BSB’s first consideration, in all of its work, must be the client and that the preservation of a distinct profession of barrister is in the interest of the public. 

Baroness Deech also spoke of the future work and mission of the BSB falling into two parts. The first concerned with the lifelong education, training, discipline and quality of the profession. The other being to regulate new working structures that still preserve for the public good, that distinctive quality of being a barrister. 

The next initiative of the Bar Council in relation to India is a delegation to Mumbai and two other legal centres from 21 – 27 November 2009. Ideas on further work on India were also gathered at the first meeting of the India Interest Group at the beginning of July. For further information on the visit and on the Interest Group please contact Christian Wisskirchen at cwisskirchen@barcouncil.org.uk or 0207 611 1315. 

LEGAL Services Commission proposals to cut legal support for vulnerable children and families have been savaged in a damning report from the all-party Justice Select Committee. The report, published today, concludes that 'proposals for reform were based on incomplete data, [and] a superficial understanding of the supply of legal services in this area'. The LSC's approach to reform is condemned as 'flawed, weak and inflexible'. It is criticised for a 'conclusions first, evidence after' approach to policy-making, having commissioned Ernst & Young to gather data to inform its thinking after proposing swingeing cuts to the system. The full press release is available on the Bar Council website. (www.barcouncil.org.uk) 

Referral fees lead to bad service and should not be permitted for barristers or other lawyers, while putting a limit on costs in advance is “neither necessary nor appropriate”, the Bar Council has said in its response to the Jackson review on the costs of civil litigation.
Claimants should continue to be able to recover 100 per cent of their damages award and should not see those damages reduced by unrecoverable but reasonably incurred costs, according to a Bar Council working group, chaired by Michael Todd QC, who led the response. The general rule that the loser pays the winner’s costs was “fair and effective”, the group concluded.
On case management, the group said there was no single approach that was appropriate and it was important instead to have a flexible system. 

Plans to introduce a controversial fixed fee scheme for family legal aid cases need “further analysis”, ministers have conceded.