News

Judiciary
Sir John Thomas, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, is to succeed Lord Judge as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales on 1 October, following Lord Judge’s retirement. 

“Such has been the demand to be present today that we could have filled this court many times over,” said Lord Dyson MR, leading the tributes in the valedictory to Lord Judge. The official farewell ahead of the Lord Chief Justice’s retirement in September, an invite-only event for some 280 guests, was held at the Royal Courts of Justice on 30 July. Extracts from some of the tributes are reproduced below: 

Criminal
The Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, Alison Saunders CB, has been named the next Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). 

On the evening of 6 November, the Bar Standards Board will be running a networking event for chambers’ equality and diversity officers to be held at Holborn Bars. The aim of the event is to promote understanding of the new equality rules and to share best practice. 

Education and training
Legal services education and training in England and Wales is good “for the most part”, a long-awaited review has concluded, but its “quality, accessibility and flexibility” must be improved to ensure it remains “fit for the future”. 

The Law Reform Essay Competition for 2013 is once again generously sponsored by the Bar Council Scholarship Trust. 

Complaints against barristers are handled promptly and fairly, according to a new independent report. 

Get help registering for QASA at a drop in session. Whether you need help logging on, selecting a level or just have a QASA question, book your slot via http://bit.ly/19odZ9Z 

Legal aid
Family barrister Jane Hoyal, of 1 Pump Court, has won Legal Aid Barrister of the Year  at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards (LALY) 2013. 

Hoyal has spent her whole legal career doing legal aid work, and was co-founder of 1 Pump Court in 1978. She specialises in public and private family law and “is known for taking on cases that others wouldn’t touch – fighting for unpopular clients, with ability and tenacity,” said compere John Howard, ex-BBC broadcaster and solicitor. The other finalists in this category were Amanda Weston (Tooks) and Ranjiv Khubber (1 Pump Court). 

Diversity
Female judicial applicants are consistently being recommended above or in line with their levels, according to official statistics released by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) in June.