News

Courts
TV cameras will be allowed to enter the Court of Appeal from October, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has confirmed. 

The Bar Council is organising a seminar to introduce interested members to the Brazilian legal market and the opportunities available. It will take place at the Bar Council offi ces on 4 March at 17:30 and will be addressed, amongst others, by a Brazilian lawyer and the former Consul General to Sao Paolo. 

Privacy
Amid criticisms of hijacking the Defamation Bill, the House of Lords has voted in favour of adding a last-minute “Leveson clause”, with 272 voting for, and 141 against. 

The Bar Council is delighted to welcome the second cohort of young Chinese lawyers under the Bar Council China Training Scheme. A delegation of around 10 - 12 Chinese commercial lawyers will visit the UK in the summer. 

We continue our research into fi nding a practical way of ensuring all clients know where to complain should they need to. 

Public access barrister training is to be overhauled under proposals announced by the Bar Standards Board. 

Applications for this year’s CPD Grants Programme for young barristers are now open. Under the programme, barristers under seven years’ Call, who are members of a participating SBA/organisation/Circuit can apply for financial assistance to participate in international legal events of their choice which contribute to their professional development. The programme aims to encourage more junior barristers to gain an international perspective on legal issues and help them thrive in an increasingly globalised legal market. 

Profession
Solicitors are being urged to negotiate alternative terms with barristers, following the introduction of the Bar’s new standard contractual terms. 

Crime
In a “watershed moment”, the Director of Public Prosecutions has apologised for “shortcomings in the part played by the CPS” in deciding not to prosecute four cases involving allegations of sexual assault by the late Jimmy Savile. 

Courts
The offence of scandalising the court looks soon to be relegated to history.