Court rejects claim that instructions of counsel create conflict – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A costs judge has rejected calls for claimant lawyers to be punished for alleged conflict in the way counsel was instructed to handle a case.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th June 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barristers walk out of courts in strike over legal aid funding – BBC News

‘Barristers will walk out of courts across England and Wales on Monday in a dispute over legal aid funding. During the strikes, they will not accept new cases or take on work for colleagues whose cases have overrun.’

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BBC news, 27th June 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Statement on deliberately failing to attend court – Bar Standards Board

Posted June 24th, 2022 in barristers, codes of practice, news by sally

‘Barristers who are not already instructed to appear at a hearing and who wish to refuse to work on a particular day or for a particular period are in general free to do so. Therefore, in principle, barristers can book a day in their professional diary as unavailable because they wish to participate in a protest on that day.’

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Bar Standards Board, 23rd June 2022

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Lord Chief Justice and BSB warn striking barristers of disciplinary risks – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Standards Board has told striking barristers that it will focus in particular on any harm caused, if they are referred for disciplinary action.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Criminal barristers vote to strike over pay rates – BBC News

‘Criminal barristers have voted to strike in an escalating dispute with the government over funding for trials.’

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BBC News, 20th June 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New data reveals decline in access to justice – The Bar Council

Posted June 20th, 2022 in barristers, courts, legal aid, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Council is calling for more funding for the justice system, as it launches a new, live, interactive map of key national and regional data on access to justice across England and Wales.’

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The Bar Council, 20th June 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Criminal legal aid fees will increase ‘by end of September’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government has revealed that it hopes to lay secondary legislation shortly that would see criminal legal aid fees increase by the end of September.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th June 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Rape courts pilot in England dismissed as ‘gimmick’ amid low conviction rates – The Guardian

‘The announcement of three specialist courtrooms to prosecute rape cases has been dismissed as a “gimmick” that does not address the chronic underfunding of the justice system that led to a fall in convictions.’

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The Guardian, 16th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Prime Minister must stop attacks on legal professionals, say Bar Council and Law Society – The Bar Council

‘Following the Prime Minister’s comments suggesting lawyers representing migrants were “abetting the work of criminal gangs”, the Bar Council and Law Society of England and Wales have issued [a] joint statement.’

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The Bar Council, 14th June 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Call to beef up rules on discrimination and harassment by barristers – Legal Futures

‘The rules against discrimination and harassment by barristers need to be strengthened by removing the requirement that the actions be unlawful, two QCs have argued.’

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Legal Futures, 14th June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firm fails in summary judgment bid over negligence claim – Legal Futures

‘A law firm being sued for more than £2m over a failure to advise properly has failed in its bid for summary judgment over several of the allegations made against it.’

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Legal Futures, 13th June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barristers to be balloted on possible walkouts in row over legal aid rates – The Guardian

‘Barristers are to be balloted this weekend on escalating industrial action over legal aid rates as figures reveal the number of crown court cases adjourned because of a shortage of lawyers has increased nearly fivefold over the decade.’

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The Guardian, 11th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Regulators must tackle “out-of-date” lawyers, LSB says – Legal Futures

‘Legal regulators must take action to ensure that lawyers are not operating with “out-of-date” skills or knowledge, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has said.’

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Legal Futures, 10th June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge calls for guidance on rights of unqualified agency advocates – Legal Futures

Posted June 10th, 2022 in advocacy, barristers, county courts, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘County court judges would benefit from “more authoritative guidance” from the higher courts on whether unqualified solicitor’s agents have rights of audience, a circuit judge has said.’

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Legal Futures, 10th June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

QC suspended over failure to disclose key evidence to defence – Legal Research

‘A very senior criminal law QC has been suspended for a year over a decision not to disclose surveillance evidence which ultimately led to a conviction being overturned on appeal.’

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Legal Research, 8th June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Tribunals agree to “deterrent” sanctions for sexual and racial misconduct – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) and Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service (BTAS) have agreed to impose “deterrent” sanctions for sexual and racial misconduct and other forms of discrimination, bullying or harassment.’

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Legal Futures, 7 June 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Specialist Commercial Bar & Black Inclusion – First Steps – The Chancery Bar Association

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in barristers, diversity, equality, news by sally

‘The Equality and Diversity Sub-Committees of COMBAR, ChBA and Tecbar (the “SBAs”) are delighted to issue the report “The Specialist Commercial Bar & Black Inclusion – First Steps” (“the Report”) for consideration by members and member sets.’

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The Chancery Bar Association, April 2022

Source: www.chba.org.uk

Landlord loses court battle with local authority over costs agreement reached by his counsel – Local Government Lawyer

‘A cost agreement cannot be undone simply because one party claimed to have stopped instructing the barrister concerned.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th May 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

R v Daniels: returning instructions – Doughty Street Chambers

Posted May 18th, 2022 in appeals, barristers, chambers articles, legal representation, news by sally

‘Professionally embarrassed? The circumstances in which criminal barristers may return instructions to appear at trial have become clearer following the Court of Appeal judgment in R v Daniels.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 10th May 2022

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Barrister given green light to pursue outstanding fees claim – Legal Futures

Posted May 16th, 2022 in barristers, fees, jurisdiction, law firms, news by sally

‘The High Court has rejected an Italian law firm’s bid to stay a barrister’s claim for outstanding fees because of an action it took against him in its home country.’

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Legal Futures, 16th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk