Taking the neurological lead: Professor Jo Delahunty KC – Counsel

Posted March 20th, 2023 in barristers, bullying, diversity, equality, mental health, news by sally

‘Being neurodivergent is something of which to be unashamedly proud and offers the Bar an extraordinary skill set. Professor Jo Delahunty KC, the silk well known for challenging the status quo, tackles the preconceptions of what it takes to be a barrister in an interview with Charlotte Plowman.’

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Counsel, 13th March 2023

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Credibility at Bar linked to “masculine heterosexuality” – Legal Futures

‘Macho masculinity and the alignment of what is generally considered professional at the Bar with heterosexuality, is creating problems for sexual minority barristers, according to a paper published recently.’

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Legal Futures, 17th March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

International Women’s Day 2023: Interview with the Honourable Justice Martha Koome – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted March 10th, 2023 in diversity, judges, judiciary, Kenya, news, women by sally

‘International Women’s Day 2023: Interview with the Honourable Justice Martha Koome, EGH (Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart), Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 8th March 2023

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Three new reports from the BSB show the impact of Bar training reforms – Bar Standards Board

Posted March 10th, 2023 in barristers, diversity, legal education, news by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published: an interim report from AlphaPlus evaluating the BSB’s Future Bar Training (FBT) reforms; the BSB’s 2023 Bar Training Report, covering the period from 2011/12 to 2022/23 and the Central Examinations Board (CEB) Chair’s Report, which presents the latest results for candidates sitting the centralised assessments in civil and criminal litigation in December 2022.’

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Bar Standards Board, 8th March 2023

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

City law firms using diversity schemes for “reputation laundering” – Legal Futures

Posted March 1st, 2023 in diversity, equality, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘The efforts of City law firms to become more diverse and inclusive are a form of “reputation laundering”, offering only the “illusion of change”, an academic and diversity specialist has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 1st March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The chain of reasoning: Lady Rose of Colmworth – Counsel

Posted February 20th, 2023 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, Supreme Court, women by sally

‘Currently the only female UK Supreme Court Justice, Lady Rose gives a rare insight into the subtext of judicial interventions, the process of deliberations and makes the case for a broader pool of advocates and judges.’

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Counsel, 13th February 2023

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

RBB’s 10 next steps for an anti-racist justice system – Counsel

Posted February 15th, 2023 in bias, diversity, equality, judiciary, legal profession, news, race discrimination, racism by sally

‘In 2022, the Racial Bias and the Bench report found evidence of institutional racism in the justice system and fundamental flaws in the Judicial Diversity Strategy. Change is coming and all judges and lawyers can help revitalise the rule of law by implementing RBB’s 10 anti-racist recommendations, say Keir Monteith KC and Professor Leslie Thomas KC.;

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Counsel, February 2023

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Bar Council launches a plan of action to improve ‘Life at the employed Bar’ – The Bar Council

Posted February 13th, 2023 in barristers, bullying, diversity, employment, harassment, news, statistics by sally

‘Greater visibility, better career progression, and stamping out bullying and harassment are key recommendations in a new report on ‘Life at the employed Bar’ published by the Bar Council today. The employed Bar is more diverse, reports higher levels of wellbeing, and experiences greater flexibility and work/life balance than the self-employed Bar. However, the employed Bar also experiences bullying and harassment at similar levels to the whole Bar, has a far lower rate of taking Silk, and expresses some concern about perceptions of careers at the employed Bar.’

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The Bar Council, 8th February 2023

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Accent bias still holding back regional barristers, research finds – Legal Futures

Posted January 31st, 2023 in advocacy, barristers, bias, diversity, news by sally

‘Barristers with regional accents still encounter bias from both clients and professional colleagues that those who speak in what is regarded as an “acceptable” accent do not, new research has found.’

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Legal Futures, 30th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

BSB publishes its Report on Diversity at the Bar 2022 – Bar Standards Board

Posted January 30th, 2023 in barristers, diversity, equality, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published a summary of the latest available diversity data for the Bar. Overall, the data shows the continuation in 2022 of several longer-term trends, including an increase in the proportion of practising barristers who are female; who are from a minority ethnic background; who have primary care of a child; who have a disability; and who are aged 55 or more. The most noticeable increase was a rise of 3.3 percentage points in the proportion of pupils who are female to 59.9 per cent.’

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Bar Standards Board, 27th January 2023

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Judiciary calls on office holders to avoid “shouting” and treat others fairly in ‘expected behaviours’ list – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 24th, 2023 in bias, complaints, diversity, judiciary, news, professional conduct by sally

‘The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has published a list of expected behaviours for judicial office holders, which includes a call to avoid “shouting or snapping” and to ensure that no one in a hearing room is exposed to bias or prejudice.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

External research on equality and diversity in the work of the Sentencing Council published – Sentencing Council

Posted January 16th, 2023 in diversity, equality, news, sentencing by sally

‘New research that examines the potential and perceived impact of sentencing guidelines on specific groups of offenders has been published by the Sentencing Council.’

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Sentencing Council, 10th January 2023

Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

Half of black British police suffer racial incidents from colleagues, survey finds – The Guardian

Posted December 16th, 2022 in bullying, diversity, equality, harassment, news, police, race discrimination, racism, statistics by sally

‘More than half of Britain’s black police officers and staff suffered racial incidents from colleagues in the past year, a survey has found.’

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The Guardian,15th December 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

In conversation with District Tribunal Judge Noel Arnold – Courts & Tribunals Judiciary

Posted December 15th, 2022 in diversity, judges, judiciary, news by sally

‘In conversation with District Tribunal Judge Noel Arnold.’

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Courts & Tribunals Judiciary, 8th December 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Report urges “impact targets” for judicial diversity initiatives – Legal Futures

Posted December 13th, 2022 in diversity, judiciary, news, reports by sally

‘There should be targets to help measure whether efforts to improve judicial diversity are achieving their goals, a report for the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF) has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 13th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

In conversation with District Judge (MC) Briony Clarke – Courts & Tribunals Judiciary

Posted December 2nd, 2022 in diversity, equality, judges, magistrates, news, women by sally

‘Find out about District Judge (MC) Briony Clarke’s career journey and her experiences of being a woman in the legal profession.’

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Courts & Tribunals Judiciary, 1st December 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Race at the Bar progress report: Much to celebrate, much more to do – The Bar Council

Posted December 2nd, 2022 in barristers, diversity, equality, news, race discrimination, statistics by sally

‘One year on from the ground-breaking Race at the Bar report, the Bar Council has published an interim progress report on action being taken across the Bar to address race inequality.’

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The Bar Council, 30th November 2022

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Neurodivergence in the CJS and the role of the Bar (1) – Counsel

Posted November 8th, 2022 in autism, barristers, criminal justice, disabled persons, diversity, dyslexia, news by sally

‘Thinking differently, engaging differently: the first of this two-part series by Dr Tom Smith looks at the experience of neurodivergent individuals in the criminal justice system and how barristers can mitigate/aggravate the challenges.’

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Counsel, November 2022

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Interview with Deputy High Court Judge Margaret Obi – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted October 28th, 2022 in diversity, judges, judiciary, news, solicitors by sally

‘In our interview Deputy High Court Judge Margaret Obi talks about her Nigerian upbringing and its influences on her career, her journey from solicitor to judge and her hopes for the future of the judiciary.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 27th October 2022

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Black judges will be under-represented in judiciary until 2149, says Law Society – The Guardian

Posted October 27th, 2022 in diversity, judiciary, minorities, news, statistics by sally

‘It will take more than 125 years before Black people are properly represented within the England and Wales judiciary at the current rate of progress, the Law Society has found.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com