Profession

October saw consultant editor of Counsel, David Wurtzel, interviewing incoming Chairman of the Bar Council, Michael Todd QC, about his plans for the role he was about to take on.  

“What I would like to see is a meritocracy. What I would like to see is the opportunity for people who have the ability to come to the Bar,” is how Michael Todd QC, the new chairman of the Bar, describes his personal vision. His own career is a perfect example. He comes from a family where there were no lawyers. His father spent most of his working life in a factory as a machine tool engineer, “but a brilliant one”. 

Giles Murphy and Rachel Stone suggest how to improve financial discipline and create a clear human resources policy within chambers. In any professional services business, having good people and sufficient cash are pre-requisites. However, in many chambers, both often receive insufficient attention. So what should you be doing to reduce risk and maximize the opportunity from both?   

As a minimum, the management team should receive a set of regular management accounts on at least a monthly basis. The management accounts need to be accurate, but more crucially, they need to be timely. It is much better to have a prompt set of management accounts, say within 10 days of the month end that incorporate some estimated figures, than to wait several months for precise data which is then out of date. 

Matthew Amey looks at the removal of recoverability of success fees and ATE insurance premiums, and the impact this will have on commercial litigation counsel

Losing recoverability means losing control. Over the past decade, not all barristers have  embraced the idea of sharing risk with their clients through conditional fee arrangements (‘CFAs’). Indeed, some  felt that it adversely affected their independence when providing advice to the client, particularly with regard to settlement offers. 

Dr Kevin Smith discusses the revised Achieving Best Evidence guidance aimed at improving the quality of video-recorded interviews in criminal proceedings. He also analyses the implications of recent amendments to special measures legislation 

Adam Sampson, Chief Legal Ombudsman, looks at the impact of Alternative Business Structures on the Bar itself and its reputation, and at whether it is ever appropriate to name a lawyer involved in a complaint.  

I know from the barristers I talk to that the term “Alternative Business Structures” is not exactly on the tip of every counsel’s tongue. So few of you I suspect have been following the fall-out from the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s recent announcement that the October deadline for their launch was not going to be met. But as with many of the changes the profession is facing, what is happening in one area of the profession potentially has major implications for their colleagues elsewhere. 

Andrew Otchie shares his experience of becoming a New York Attorney and discusses the common issues in academic training, qualification and practice.  

The Bar Council statistics record that when I was Called to the Bar in 2005, 1,392 candidates had successfully completed the Bar Vocational Course (now the Bar Professional Training Course) that year, but only 556 barristers commenced pupillage (the numbers however are not precise because pupillage applicants include previous course candidates, and approximately 30 per cent of those Called are from overseas and are not looking for a pupillage in this country). 

ROUND  ONE
The recommendations made by the Jackson Review are beginning to be implemented. Stuart Sime provides an overview

Sir Rupert Jackson’s 2010 Review of Civil Litigation Costs , (see ‘Jackson Review: Justice and Costs’, Counsel February 2010) remains very much on the agenda of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and we have now reached the stage when the recommendations made by the Review are beginning to be implemented. 

The payment of referral fees is to be banned. Lord Justice Jackson has got what he wanted. Professor Dominic Regan considers the ban and whether it may presage other seismic shifts.

A referral fee is a sum paid by a solicitor so as to acquire instructions. Trust solicitors to end up paying to do work. Chapter 20 of the final Jackson report sets out the history and ramifications. His view was that the only winners were the recipient of fees. An outright ban was proposed. 

Taryn Lee and Toby Craig look forward to this year’s Bar Conference on Saturday 5 November and explain how the Bar can overcome a period of great change to ensure a bright future.  

As barristers, clerks, practice managers, solicitors and many others come together on Saturday 5 November to take part in this year’s 26th Annual Bar Conference, the Bar looks around and finds change in almost everything it sees. The legal profession has been subject to a range of new regulation and legislation in recent years, coupled with a deep financial crisis which has affected all professions and created stark challenges and strong opportunities. 

The Court of Protection has been accused of being overly secretive. Elizabeth Cleaver examines recent cases where  the media has been allowed to attend

The new Court of Protection was set up in 2007 to take important decisions for those who lack the capacity to do so for themselves. These issues include where the patient should live, who should manage their finances and what medical treatment they should receive. Prior to 2007 the Court of Protection was part of the Office of the Public Guardian but these are now two separate bodies. It was felt that more clarity was needed concerning day to day decision-making for the most vulnerable members of our society. These decisions are of paramount importance to the patient and can be of the most private nature. Although Court of Protection cases are normally heard in private some recent cases have raised the question of publicising them.