Barristers
Court scolds QC but decides against referring him to BSB
A QC who misused the urgent applications procedure for a Brexit-related judicial review has been ticked off by the Divisional Court but escaped being referred to the Bar Standards Board.
Law firm swaps regulator after enduring “bumpy journey”
A family law practice started by two solicitors has divorced the Bar Standards Board as its regulator and taken up with the Solicitors Regulation Authority after difficulties beset the relationship.
Barrister suspended over Royal baby tweets returns to work
The barrister suspended from the innovative family law business she founded after being accused of making racist comments about the latest Royal baby has returned to work.
BSB more likely to raise complaints against minority ethnic barristers
Minority ethnic barristers remain more likely than their White counterparts to be subject to complaints raised by the Bar Standards Board, with men more likely than women, new research has shown.
LSB: Bar regulator “put interests of profession ahead of the public”
The Bar Standards Board places “a disproportionate weight on the impact of its work on the profession” and pays insufficient regard to the impact on the public, the Legal Services Board said today.
Lawyers should have to take competence tests “every 10 years”
Lawyers should have to take online tests every 10 years to prove that they remain competent in their specialist fields, the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel said yesterday.
Signs of progress as courts support barrister’s childcare responsibilities
A barrister has spoken about her “really positive” recent experiences of courts accommodating “the practicalities and balancing acts being carried out by those with children”.
Bar Council urges limits to mitigation in sexual misconduct cases involving barristers
Issues such as provocation, spontaneity and whether an incident was a ‘one-off’ should not be factors that reduce sanctions for sexual misconduct by barristers, the Bar Council has urged.
Lewd barrister thought he could act with impunity towards mini-pupil
An experienced barrister who made crude sexual comments to a student on a mini-pupillage thought he could act as he did “without anyone doing anything about it”, a tribunal has found.
Call to curb return to practice of barristers suspended for sexual misconduct
Barristers suspended for sexual misconduct should face conditions when they return to practice, such as bans from taking pupils or being featured in legal directories.
Blog
The AI question law firms should answer before a client asks it
Most law firms we speak to are already using AI, whether or not they have approved it, because fee-earners are doing it anyway. The tool people settle on is often Claude.
From chat to Cowork: preparing your law firm for agentic AI
AI is evolving quickly. For law firms still working out how to get consistent value from the tools they already have, the conversation has moved on again to agentic AI.
Why good governance matters when managing Law Society forms
Everyday legal transactions rely on Law Society forms. But they are often treated as static templates rather than what they really are: living documents that change over time.
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