Barristers
Barrister suspended for groping Bar student in taxi
A criminal law barrister who groped a Bar student he was mentoring during a drunken night out has been suspended for six months.
Barrister suspended for Twitter attacks on fellow counsel
A barrister in a long-running dispute with fellow counsel has been suspended from practice for two years after sending her a series of “obscene or seriously offensive” tweets.
BSB and SRA in firing line over shortcomings
The Bar Standards Board has been told that it needs to act more quickly on how it plans to educate the public about barristers after its widely criticised decision to stop funding Legal Choices.
Call for “real inclusion” rather than tick boxes at the Bar
The Bar should focus on “real inclusion” and “actionable, practical steps” to improve diversity rather than tick boxes, a black barrister and human rights activist has argued.
Barristers still struggling with concept of CPD “reflection”
Barristers are generally happy with their new continuing professional development regime but are struggling to understand the concept of ‘reflection’, independent research has found.
Sets without equal numbers of women “will lose work”
Market forces will mean that commercial sets without a diverse gender pool at all levels will soon find themselves losing work to more gender-equal sets, according to a circuit judge researching equality.
“No right” to judge women lawyers on appearance
It is about time that men and women realise that they have “no right to judge a woman’s commitment to and ability to do her job based on her appearance”, a leading QC has declared.
Pre-92 universities lead way with BPTC pass-rates
The pre-1992 universities achieve the best results in the centralised exams taken by students on the Bar Professional Training Course, it has emerged.
Online justice puts advocacy standards at risk
The drive towards online or virtual justice puts advocacy and professional standards at risk, delegates at the Bar Council’s annual conference heard on Saturday.
Barrister posted “misogynistic” comments on Facebook
A barrister suspended last month for offensive messages on Facebook posted one that was effectively a threat to kill a member of the public, it has emerged. They were also “misogynistic”.
Blog
The importance of benchmarking reports – and lessons on profitability
Regional firms reported the largest revenue growth this year (12%), outpacing their City counterparts. Yet many are not converting that growth into profitability.
Fixed recoverable costs: Sacrificing justice for predictability?
The extended fixed recoverable costs regime is failing to achieve its stated objectives. Instead of promoting fairness and efficiency, the rules are creating anomalies that undermine justice.
Expectations keep rising, so prioritise client experience
Law firms are facing growing pressure to place greater focus on client experience or risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive legal market.
