Judiciary needs fast-track scheme to boost diversity, says top judge – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2014 in diversity, judges, judiciary, law firms, litigants in person, news by tracey

‘A career judiciary with fast-track promotion to higher courts may be required to overcome lack of diversity on the bench, the UK’s most senior judge has suggested.’

Full story

The Guardian, 17th September 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

More women judges will improve law’: Britain’s only female Supreme Court judge calls for more diversity – The Independent

Posted July 28th, 2014 in diversity, judiciary, legal profession, news, statistics, Supreme Court, women by sally

‘Britain’s only female Supreme Court judge says there needs to be more gender equality shown across Britain’s legal system and that by appointing more female judges the quality of justice could be greatly improved.’

Full story

The Independent, 27th July 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Scales of justice still unbalanced for female judges – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2014 in child abuse, diversity, equality, inquiries, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

‘The lord chief justice admitted progress on diversity is too slow, while Chris Grayling’s offer of ‘partnership’ should be eyed warily.’

Full story

The Guardian, 10th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council and BSB confirm big drop in number of new tenancies – Legal Futures

Posted July 3rd, 2014 in barristers, diversity, news by sally

‘The number of tenancies available for newly qualified barristers fell dramatically in the most recent year for which figures are available – but not as badly as had been feared.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 2nd July 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Women in the Judiciary – Lady Hale

Posted July 1st, 2014 in diversity, judiciary, speeches, women by sally

Women in the Judiciary (PDF)

Lady Hale

Fiona Woolf Lecture for the Women Lawyers’ Division of the Law Society, 27th June 2014

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Project pits women’s success stories against “negative narrative of diversity debate” – Legal Futures

Posted June 30th, 2014 in barristers, diversity, equality, legal profession, news, solicitors, statistics, women by sally

‘A five-year project to celebrate the achievements of women lawyers has been launched, culminating at the centenary of the Act of Parliament which abolished the bar on their entry into the profession.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 27th June 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

BSB bids to improve barristers’ reporting of certain diversity data – from abysmal to awful – Legal Futures

Posted June 13th, 2014 in barristers, diversity, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board has set itself a minimum target of 30% for diversity data collection from barristers on sexuality, religion and disability.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 13th June 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Equality objectives for 2014-15 – Bar Standards Board

Posted June 4th, 2014 in barristers, disclosure, diversity, equality, harassment, press releases by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has developed and adopted five new equality objectives for 2014-15.’

Full text

Bar Standards Board, 3rd June 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Graham Gee and Kate Malleson: Judicial Appointments, Diversity and the Equal Merit Provision – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted May 7th, 2014 in diversity, equality, judiciary, news by sally

‘One of the changes introduced by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 was to amend section 63 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which provides that the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) must select candidates for judicial office ‘solely on merit’. Schedule 13 of the 2013 Act clarified that making selections solely on merit does not prevent the JAC from recommending a candidate on the basis of improving diversity on the bench where there are two candidates of equal merit. This is variously known as the ‘equal merit’, ‘tie-break’ or ‘tipping point’ provision and derives from s 159 of the Equality Act 2010. After a consultation exercise last summer, the JAC last month published its policy on how it will implement the equal merit provision. In this post, we draw on research conducted as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence to explain why the JAC’s policy is disappointingly cautious, limits the prospect of further progress on diversity and offers further evidence of what we believe is the excessive judicial influence on judicial appointments.’

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th May 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

The City of London Solicitors’ Company – Speech by The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice

Posted April 9th, 2014 in courts, diversity, judiciary, law firms, London, news, speeches by sally

The City of London Solicitors’ Company (PDF)

Speech by The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice

Judiciary of England and Wales, 31st March 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Bar Council and BSB publish statistics and trends about the Bar – The Bar Council

Posted April 2nd, 2014 in barristers, diversity, equality, legal education, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board have published the third edition of the ‘Bar Barometer’ – an annual research report providing statistics and trends in the barristers’ profession of England and Wales.’

Full story

The Bar Council, 1st April 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Released short term prisoner face another two weeks behind bars if they ignore new supervision – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 26th, 2014 in bills, diversity, magistrates, news, rehabilitation, supervision orders by sally

‘Damian Green, Justice minister, announces new powers for magistrates to ensure new supervision orders are met.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 25th March 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A ton of new QCs hit the courts – Litigation Futures

Posted February 19th, 2014 in barristers, diversity, news, queen's counsel, solicitor advocates, statistics by sally

‘Exactly 100 advocates – made up of 95 barristers and five solicitors – were today named in the annual silk round.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 19th February 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.co.uk

No more getting your clerk to do it – BSB bids to improve barristers’ diversity reporting – Legal Futures

Posted February 4th, 2014 in barristers, diversity, news by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is set to introduce a series of measures to improve diversity reporting among barristers after the vast majority refused to answer many of the questions posed about their backgrounds.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 4th February 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Prohibiting positive action – clarification, but little practical impact – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 17th, 2014 in bills, diversity, equality, news, recruitment by sally

‘The Equality and Diversity (Reform) Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. The private members’ bill will prohibit the use of affirmative and positive action in recruitment and appointment processes.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 16th January 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Diversity League Table: minorities still under-represented at the top of the profession – The Lawyer

Posted November 13th, 2013 in diversity, minorities, news, solicitors by tracey

“The latest Diversity League Table from the Black Solicitors Network suggests that despite improved access to the profession minority groups remain under-represented at the top.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 12th November 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Equal Treatment Bench Book – Judiciary of England and Wales

Posted November 8th, 2013 in diversity, documents, equality, judiciary, news by tracey

“The Equal Treatment Bench Book, a guide for judges, magistrates and all other judicial office-holders, has been revised and updated.”

Full text

Judiciary of England and Wales, 6th November 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

The Bar in society: A vital force for good – Speech by Maura McGowan QC, Chairman of the Bar

The Bar in society: A vital force for good (PDF)

Speech by Maura McGowan QC, Chairman of the Bar

Annual Bar Conference, 2nd November 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Young Legal Aid Lawyers: Social Mobility – Speech by Lady Hale

Posted November 1st, 2013 in diversity, judges, legal profession, news, speeches by sally

Young Legal Aid Lawyers: Social Mobility (PDF)

Speech by Lady Hale

London South Bank University, 30th October 2013

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

Senior judge warns of leap in Oxbridge lawyers – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 1st, 2013 in diversity, judges, legal profession, news, speeches by sally

“A ‘startling leap’ in the proportion of lawyers from Oxbridge and professional backgrounds threatens the diversity of the profession, Baroness Hale, Britain’s most senior female judge, warns.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 1st November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk