We are currently keeping the coronavirus situation under review and monitoring the advice we receive from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Public Health England.Members of the Bar and their colleagues in chambers or employment should also keep abreast of this advice. The Bar Council will endeavour to update the profession as quickly as possible should the situation change.
We are keeping our training and events portfolio under continuous review and if the advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Public Health England suggests individuals should not travel, then we will cancel or postpone any planned Bar Council courses we are not able to facilitate other than in-person.
10 asks for the Chancellor’s Budget 2020
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Ahead of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget on 11 March 2020, the Bar Council has submitted its 10 asks to HM Treasury to create a more sustainable justice system, which is in need of urgent investment across the board.
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Bar Council reacts to Government's “first step” in criminal legal aid plans
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Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Legal Aid Review: An accelerated package of measures amending the criminal legal aid fee schemes Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said: "These consultation proposals set out a modest, stop-gap improvement in specific areas of criminal defence fees. This is a welcome, first step, as the Lord Chancellor acknowledges, in recognising the crucial role of defence legal practitioners to the delivery of justice in an increasingly complex and onerous system."
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International Women’s Day 2020 – a trailer
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In conversation. Two barristers at different point in their careers.
For International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March, watch Amanda Pinto QC, Chair of the Bar, in conversation with Katherine Duncan, Chair of the Bar Council’s Young Barristers' Committee discussing their own experiences as women at the Bar. The full conversation, plus more will be revealed on Sunday via the Bar Council’s Twitter feed.
Watch the trailer:
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Chair of the Bar’s Counsel magazine column
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In her monthly Counsel magazine column, Chair of the Bar, Amanda Pinto QC, writes that pro bono is a vital conduit to access to justice and improves your life, so sign up.
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ustice Week 2020 – highlights
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Last week was Justice Week, which saw the Bar Council, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) and The Law Society team up to promote the importance of the rule of law to young people. Justice Week activities were aimed at boosting young people’s support and understanding of the justice system in England and Wales.
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Covering the themes of protecting our freedom, fighting for rights, defending democracy and saving our planet, there was an array of activity over the week. Highlights include:
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Chair of the Bar, Amanda Pinto QC, with pupils from Colville Primary School
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Parliamentary Update – Attorney General, Justice Week, Budget Submission and Bills
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In the last few weeks, our Chair Amanda Pinto QC gave a speech at the swearing in ceremony of the new Attorney General, with whom we also met later in the week to discuss CPS investment, disclosure, release under investigation, the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice and the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission. The Attorney General also attended the Bar Council meeting last Saturday.
Our Parliamentary activity for Justice Week was a great success with over 25 MPs attending our MP photocall including the Attorney General, Solicitor General and Lord Chancellor. We have also met with a number of new and returning MPs. Ahead of the Budget next week, we have submitted a paper (more commonly known as a Budget Submission) to the Treasury, which sets out ten recommendations of where investment is urgently needed to improve our justice system. It has been shared with MPs and Peers and can be read here.
The Domestic Abuse Bill is now before Parliament and we will be briefing MPs on our position as the Bill progresses.
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The Bar Council’s Employed Bar Awards 2020: nomination deadline extended
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Do you know an employed barrister whose outstanding work should be recognised across the profession and beyond? If so, you still have time to nominate them for an Employed Bar Award 2020 before the extended deadline of midnight on 15 March 2020.
This year we will be presenting awards for outstanding work in the public sector, law firms, NGOs, the Armed Forces, sports, and commerce, finance and industry. We will also be crowning the employed Bar Legal Team of the Year and the overall winner of Employed Barrister of the Year.
Held at the historic Merchant Taylors’ Hall on 3 July, the awards ceremony will be attended by leading members of the Bar and judiciary, and will include guests from government, industry and the media.
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Guest blog: I am the Bar – does Oxbridge matter?
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Stuart Jessop, barrister at 6 Pump Court, blogs on social mobility, whether his polytechnic background was a benefit or a barrier to gaining pupillage and whether the Bar needs to look more closely at how it recruits.
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Guest vlog: Benefits of direct access explained in 1 minute
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Daniel J ShenSmith, barrister and member of the Bar Council’s Direct Access Panel, explains some of the benefits of adding direct access to your practice.
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Regulating legal services: justice, not simplicity is the goal
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In the last year, the future of legal services regulation has become a hot topic in regulatory policy, as the sector considers both innovation and consumer protection within the current regulatory framework established under the Legal Services Act 2007. The recent Westminster Legal Policy Forum keynote seminar on the future of legal services inspired lively discussion and diverse points of view on these issues. The Bar Council’s Melanie Mylvaganam, Policy Manager: Regulatory Affairs, Law Reform and Ethics and Eleanore Hughes, Policy Analyst: Regulatory Affairs, Law Reform and Ethics, give an overview of the issues discussed.
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Elevating publicly available legal resources: The Legal Design Sprint
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On the final day of Justice Week, Friday 28 February 2020, Joanne Kane, barrister and Vice-Chair of the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee attended the Legal Design Sprint competition at the offices of the Bar Council. In her blog, she explains how the event opened her eyes to the benefits of legal design sprints.
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Blog: Learning to mediate: A view from the Bar Council
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The Bar Council’s Head of Services, Carolyn Entwistle, and Policy Analyst, Stuart McMillan, recently attended The Society of Mediators’ Foundation Mediation course to better understand the place of mediation in today’s legal market.
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*Exclusively for BRF subscribers* - English-Polish Law Day
Monday 30 March 2020
The Bar Council will be holding a third English Law Day (in collaboration with the Warsaw Bar Association and the Law Society of England and Wales) in Warsaw on Monday 30 March. The event will focus on extradition and child abduction, as well as on professional cross-border practice and judicial independence. Only those who subscribe to the Bar Council's Representation Fee (BRF) can register for this event.
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Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration breakfast briefing:
Managing and Resolving Commercial Disputes: Arbitration and Mediation in Saudi Arabia & the wider Middle East
Tuesday 31 March 08:00-10:00
The Bar Council
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Opportunity to join a legal exchange in Paris
The Paris Bar is running two exchange ‘traineeships’ for international lawyers, one for fluent French speakers, and another for fluent English speakers.
Applications are to be made to the Paris Bar, with a deadline of 9 March 2020 for the English speaking programme and 11 May 2020 for the French speaking programme.
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New: Legal Aid Billing seminars
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Are you a family, criminal or civil practitioner or specialist fees clerk? Following the success of last year’s Legal Aid Billing Seminar Series, we will once again be joining with expert representatives from the Legal Aid Agency, specialist publicly-funded chambers and solicitors’ associations and firms to help you find out how to receive payments faster and reduce the risk of fees being rejected. Find out more about the seminars below.
With a maximum ticket price of only £30, the seminars (as well as our other work supporting the publicly-funded Bar) would not be possible without support from the Bar Representation Fee (BRF). Find out more about the BRF and subscribe.
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