Barristers

Research led by female barristers has highlighted the stark choices faced by women trying to balance working in private practice with looking after children.

Unpaid mini-pupillages could “indirectly discriminate” against would-be barristers from poorer backgrounds, a review by the Bar Standards Board has found.

A dual-qualified solicitor and barrister who was struck off after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Legal Aid Agency has now been disbarred. He was given a two-year suspended sentence.

The Bar Council may work with the Law Society to influence solicitors and clients as part of a campaign to ensure a fairer allocation of briefs to women barristers.

The Bar Council is still unhappy with the price transparency regime proposed by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), despite the regulator’s decision to limit publication of information about fees to public access work. The revised rules came under fire from… Read More

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is “not sufficiently transparent” in explaining its decisions at board level, the Legal Services Board has said, while ticking off other regulators too.

Access to justice includes information about lawyers’ fees, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has told the Bar Standards Board. It also called for more focus on barristers’ communication skills.

The Bar Council has called on the Bar Standards Board to review the rules on fair allocation of work for barristers, saying that regulatory attention on diversity should focus on career progression.

The government is “strongly” encouraging legal regulators to take action over lawyers who advise on the use of potentially unenforceable provisions in non-disclosure agreements.

Changes to the QC appointment regime aimed to help women apply for silk are to be introduced for the 2019 round, the body in charge of the scheme has announced.