Barristers
High Court overturns barrister’s suspension due to “lacuna”
The High Court has overturned a decision to suspend a barrister for failing to comply with a Legal Ombudsman direction – because he was already suspended at the time of the events.
Bar students urge online exams rethink
Bar professional training course students have told the Bar Standards Board that its plans for online examinations risk discriminating against women, carers and the disabled.
BSB to review rules on barristers’ conduct outside practice
The Bar Standards Board is to review its approach to policing barristers’ conduct outside of practice, including how they use social media, Legal Futures can reveal.
BSB outlines concern over post-virus ‘virtual’ chambers
Some chambers may choose to continue operating virtually once the Covid-19 crisis passes, with “significant implications” for their support services and collegiality.
Female barristers warn of “disproportionate attrition” during Covid-19
Female barristers have urged the courts and chambers to take action to avoid the coronavirus crisis leading to “further and disproportionate attrition of women from the Bar”.
LSB gives Bar Council a ticking off over staffing criticism
The Legal Services Board has given the Bar Council a slap on the wrist for the comments it made in a Legal Futures article about staffing levels at the oversight regulator.
BSB approves online exams with “astonishing” anti-cheat rules
The Bar Standards Board has announced that Bar students will be able to take this year’s exams online – but barristers have expressed concern about the “astonishing” anti-cheating provisions.
Pupillage deadline “should be extended or scrapped” amid Covid-19
A young barrister who runs a blog about mental health among lawyers has called for the five-year deadline for would-be barristers to get pupillages to be extended or scrapped.
Barrister who “took advantage of BSB’s generosity” is suspended
A veteran barrister who “took advantage” of the Bar Standards Board by refusing to pay a fine for almost four years has been suspended for two months.
LSB to check random sample of disciplinary decisions
The Legal Services Board is planning to review a “random sample” of regulators’ disciplinary decisions to ensure the right processes and procedures are in place.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
