Stephen Hockman QC argues the case for a written constitution
1876–2009
Edited by Louis Blom-Cooper, Brice Dickson and Gavin Drewry
Oxford University Press; Hardback (August 2009); £95
ISBN: 0199532710
Solicitor-advocates may be appointed for cases beyond their competency because of a desire to keep costs low, a report commissioned by the Legal Services Board (“LSB”) has found.
Barristers Dominic Grieve QC and Edward Garnier QC have been appointed Attorney General and Solicitor General respectively in the new Con–Lib Dem coalition government.
Charles Hale on electioneering, acting and performances
It’s strange, isn’t it? The airwaves are buzzing with talk of how this general election could be the first genuine internet election, with the main parties taking their lead from Obama’s celebrated use of online communication to help secure his victory. Apparently the latest political brainwave involves identifying hot news topics that will generate multiple searches and buying appropriately linked domain names. For example, if you want to know more about David Beckham’s Achilles tendon injury, you might Google “Beckham’s operation” – only to discover that this exact phrase has just been purchased by the Liberal Democrats. So, instead of learning about the England star’s dashed World Cup dreams, you find yourself reading Nick Clegg’s views on a hung Parliament. I can’t imagine that the man on the Clapham omnibus will welcome such blatant interference into his browsing habits, but maybe I just don’t understand as I’m not a politician.
With the general election looming, Richard Gordon QC argues that the price of restored trust in democracy may be a codified constitution
Is it time for the UK to have a written constitution? In suggesting that we had no constitution, the 19th Century French political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville was wrong. Britain does have a constitution but it is old-fashioned, top-down and—as far as the rest of the free, democratic world is concerned—of a fast-disappearing kind.
What causes confusion is that, unlike us, nearly all democratic States have a written (in the sense of codified) constitution. Only Israel and New Zealand join us in relying on a nebulous body of rules, some contained in Acts of Parliament, some in constitutional conventions, some scattered around in the most diverse sources. The expenses scandal and the ensuing loss of trust in politics led many (myself included) to think we needed fundamental change.
Which lawyers have played first class cricket? Daniel Lightman investigates
There is a long tradition of lawyer-cricketers. Perhaps the first was William Byrd (1674–1744). Born in Virginia, where his father was an early settler from England, he was sent to English public school and went on to be called to the Bar and join the Inner Temple. In 1704, on his father’s death, Byrd returned to Virginia to take over his family’s estates, and is said to have introduced cricket there. Between 1709 and 1712 William Byrd kept a secret diary, the entry for 25 April 1709 recording: “I rose at 6 o’clock and read a chapter in Hebrew. About 10 o’clock Dr Blair, and Major and Captain Harrison came to see us. After I had given them a glass of sack we played cricket. I ate boiled beef for my dinner. Then we played at shooting with arrows and went to cricket again till dark.”
Guy Richard Newey QC of Maitland Chambers has been appointed as an additional High Court judge in the Chancery Division to help with an increased workload.
Baroness Scotland has mounted a robust defence of the “fundamentally sound” role of the Attorney General. The government began a review of the role of Attorney General in 2007 and announced its decision, that no change to the law was necessary, in 2009.
The emergence of a UK constitutional court could be “one unintended consequence” of the new Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger has warned.
“I am not saying that this will or that it should happen. I am saying it may happen,” he said, delivering the Young Legal Group of the British Friends of the Hebrew University lecture.
Looking back on a year as Chair of the Bar
AlphaBiolabs supports vulnerable children and families with its annual ‘12 Days of Christmas’ campaign
By David Cosway (with the help of ChatGPT)
Due to advances in research, technology and techniques, AlphaBiolabs can now offer alcohol testing for head hair samples that are just 1cm in length
With the explosion of interest in governance and the growing need to be multi-skilled to keep career options open, adding an extra string to your bow is not without its merits. The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland (CGIUKI) Fast Track for the Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme could be ideal for experienced professionals to reach chartered governance status
The 2023-24 COMBAR mentoring scheme for underrepresented groups is now open for applications - deadline extended to 12 October 2023
The North Eastern Circuit Leader on his trailblazing career, turbulent early years of practice and his mission to equip all barristers, regardless of their characteristics, with the opportunity to thrive. Interview by Glenn Parsons
From a CPS pupillage to Director of Legal Services at one of the largest prosecutors in England and Wales Michael Jennings describes the interesting and varied life an employed barrister in public service can lead
In 2022 Behind the Gown asked the Bar Standards Board to acknowledge online misogyny and sexism. One year on, the regulator’s revised Social Media Guidance doesn’t go far enough in confronting this issue, say Stephanie Hayward and Charlotte Proudman
Growing your junior practice via international conference and how to fund the trip: Daria Gleyze, Emile Simpson and Sajid Suleman share what they gained from the ChBA BVI Conference
Countering the gatekeeper agenda, troubling news on earnings disparities, spreading best practice in chambers, Pro Bono Week 2023, and the Rules of War
