Category: diversity

Bar Council Chairman: We will not facilitate a scheme which will wreck the criminal justice system – The Bar Council

Posted June 5th, 2013 in barristers, competition, criminal justice, diversity, fees, legal aid, legal representation, news, solicitors by sally

The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has today stated that it has no plans to develop a quality system to facilitate price competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal legal aid. The Bar Council believes that real quality is based on choice of service providers, not price alone, on which the Government’s model is based. The Bar Council’s response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation clearly sets out its position on this issue.

Full story

The Bar Council, 5th June 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

New equality and diversity goals set out at Board meeting – Bar Standards Board

Posted May 22nd, 2013 in barristers, diversity, equality, news by sally

“Twelve equality objectives for 2013-14, set out in five priority areas, were approved and adopted by the Bar Standards Board at the May Board meeting – in line with statutory equality duties.”

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 21st May 2013

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Crime and Courts Act 2013: Consultation on the application of the equal merit provision – Judicial Appointments Commission

Posted May 17th, 2013 in consultations, diversity, judicial appointments commission, judiciary, legislation, news by sally

“The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is interested in views on potential approaches to the application of the provisions in Part 2 of Schedule 13 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (CCA) relating to diversity considerations where candidates for judicial office are of equal merit. The provisions in the CCA clarify that the JAC’s duty to make selections ‘solely on merit’ (S63(2) Constitutional Reform Act 2005) does not prevent it from selecting one candidate over another for the purpose of increasing judicial diversity where there are two candidates of equal merit.”

Full story

Judicial Appointments Commission, 17th May 2013

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Stephen Lawrence: how his murder changed the legal landscape – The Guardian

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in diversity, equality, murder, news, police, racism, statistics, stop and search by sally

“The Macpherson report made 70 recommendations – 67 led to specific changes in practice or law within two years of publication.”

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme Court: diversity, equality and flexibility – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 12th, 2013 in diversity, news, solicitors, Supreme Court, women by sally

“In 2009, when asked by the then Lord Chancellor to look at judicial diversity, Baroness Neuberger said:

‘Judges drawn from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences will bring varying perspectives to bear on critical legal issues. A judiciary which is more visibly reflective of society will enhance public confidence.'”

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 11th March 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Britain’s most senior judge takes aim at gender imbalance – The Guardian

Posted March 5th, 2013 in closed material, diversity, evidence, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

“The stereotypical image of judges as male and white may be so deeply entrenched that there could be an ‘unconscious bias’ against women, the United Kingdom’s most senior judge has suggested.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Review of published evidence on the equality of pay in legal services – Legal Services Board

Posted February 28th, 2013 in diversity, equal pay, legal services, news, reports by sally

“Studies of earnings in the legal profession have consistently shown that women earn less than men and that individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups earn less than their white colleagues. This is confirmed in a review by the Legal Services Board (LSB) of the quantitative data available on the earnings of legal professionals in England and Wales. The LSB published the Review of published evidence on the equality of pay in legal services on 28 February 2013.”

Full story

Legal Services Board, 28th February 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

Attack of the Clones: Supreme Court keeps its white male first eleven – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 28th, 2013 in courts, diversity, judges, news, Supreme Court by sally

“Baroness Helena Kennedy has argued that judges have a tendency to clone themselves when choosing successors. It is hard to avoid that impression in the Supreme Court, which kept its white male first eleven in place yesterday by appointing three new justices: Lord Justice Hughes, Lord Justice Toulson and Lord Hodge. The sole woman amongst 12 justices of our highest appeal court remains Lady Hale. There are no black or Asian judges, not have there ever been.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 27th February 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Number of female lawyers applying to be QC falls – The Guardian

Posted February 28th, 2013 in diversity, news, queen's counsel, women by sally

“There has been a significant fall in the number of female lawyers applying to acquire the elite status of Queen’s Counsel (QC).”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Equality in the Judiciary – Speech by Lady Hale

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, speeches, women by sally

Equality in the Judiciary (PDF)

Speech by Lady Hale

Kuttan Menon Memorial Lecture, 21st February 2013

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

UK’s most senior female judge calls for more diversity at the top – The Guardian

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

“Positive discrimination may be needed to redress the gender imbalance among senior judges, the only woman in Britain’s highest court has proposed.”

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The Guardian, 21st February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Diversity Review of Complaints Processes – Bar Standards Board

Posted February 20th, 2013 in barristers, complaints, diversity, minorities, news, professional conduct by sally

“The Bar Standards Board has commissioned an external agency to review its professional conduct complaints processes. The action was taken following an internal report which showed that Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) barristers were over represented in the complaints process.”

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 19th February 2013

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

The IPCC should be scrapped, says former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 11th, 2013 in complaints, diversity, education, news, police by sally

“The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) should be replaced with a new body that can hold the police to account when something goes wrong, says the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Lord Stevens.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th February 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Public sector cuts hit judges’ pensions – The Guardian

Posted February 6th, 2013 in bills, budgets, contribution, diversity, judiciary, news, pensions by sally

“Judges have been given figures showing how much they will lose when their tax-free pension allowances are cut in line with government reforms of public sector pay.”

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The Guardian, 6th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hot 100: James Dingemans QC, 3 Hare Court – The Lawyer

Posted January 31st, 2013 in barristers, diversity, inns of court, news, pupillage by sally

“Inner Temple became a trailblazer on diversity issues at the bar when in March 2012 it launched the Pegasus Access Scheme.”

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The Lawyer, 28th January 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Equality and Diversity podcast launched – Bar Standards Board

Posted January 25th, 2013 in barristers, diversity, equality, press releases, professional conduct by tracey

“A new Equality and Diversity training podcast has been launched to help practitioners comply with their obligations under the new Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct rules on Equality and Diversity.”

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 23rd January 2013

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Fair access to the legal profession – The Guardian

Posted January 7th, 2013 in diversity, law firms, legal education, legal profession, news by sally

“City law firms are exploring ways to remove barriers that prevent students from lower-income backgrounds pursuing a career in law.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barrister snub to diversity monitoring “embarrassing” and “pathetic” – Legal Futures

Posted December 17th, 2012 in barristers, disclosure, diversity, news, statistics by sally

“Only a handful of the 15,000-plus members of the Bar have disclosed information such as whether they went to public or state schools, in a snub to the chairs of the Bar and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) who had personally requested it.”

Full story

Legal Futures, 17th December 2012

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Diversity boost for lowest rung of judiciary – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 7th, 2012 in diversity, judiciary, news by sally

“A quarter of the lawyers recommended as deputy district judges (magistrates’ courts) in the most recent round of appointments were black, Asian and minority ethnic (BME), statistics released by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) this week reveal.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 7th December 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Equality and diversity rules spot check – Bar Standards Board

Posted December 5th, 2012 in barristers, diversity, equality, news by sally

“The BSB is undertaking a ‘progress check’ with a sample of 40 chambers to commence in February 2013. This to understand the extent to which the profession is engaging with the new equality and diversity rules and to identify any areas of challenge for individuals and chambers.”

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 3rd December 2012

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk