Barristers
High Court: Tribunal right to disbar barrister who drafted false grounds of appeal
The High Court has upheld the disbarment of a barrister accused of drafting false grounds of appeal for a client found guilty on drugs charges.
BSB seeks power to shut down chambers
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has proposed that it should be given, for the first time, the power to intervene in barristers’ practices and chambers. It also wants new powers on fines and setting up a compensation fund.
Bar Council chair pleads with barristers to pay fee that funds representative work
The chairman of the Bar Council has urged the increasing number of barristers who decline to pay a voluntary £100 levy to fund its representative work to think again. Alistair MacDonald contrasted this reluctance with the 7,722 barristers who each made a £30 donation to help fund the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
‘Named and shamed’ barrister gets judge removed from disciplinary appeal hearing
Tariq Rehman, the barrister ‘named and shamed’ by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) for the number of complaints against him, has succeeded in a last-minute bid to remove the judge hearing his appeal.
BSB promises “lighter weight and less costly” regulation as it applies to licence ABSs
The Bar Standards Board has promised to provide “lighter weight and less costly” regulation than its rivals as it applied to become a regulator of alternative business structures last week. “Many potential entities” wanted to “exploit the greater flexibility” that operating as an ABS could provide.
1532 law keeps English barrister out of Scotland’s highest court
Scotland’s most senior judges have rejected a bid to allow an English barrister to appear before the country’s highest civil court for the first time in nearly 500 years. They said that the College of Justice Act 1532 remains good law.
Tax fraud barrister loses appeal against confiscation order
Michael Stannard, a former barrister convicted of cheating the public revenue of over £3m, has failed in his latest attempt to challenge a confiscation order made against him. The judge said she had “formed the clear impression” that he was “wholly unrepentant”.
Number of QCs continues to fall
The number of QCs is continuing to fall, statistics from the Bar Standard Board have shown, dropping by more than 200 in four years. This contrasts with the steady rise in the total number of practicing barristers.
Solicitor who is not an advocate sets up one of first BSB entities
A firm set up by Mark Johnson, a solicitor and former partner at Geldards, is among the first dozen entities to be named today as regulated by the Bar Standards Board. He did it because of access to Bar Mutual indemnity insurance and the Bar’s “simpler and more transparent” rules.
Single-person ‘firms’ dominate first tranche of barrister entities
All but one of the entities authorised by the Bar Standards Board since the beginning of this month consist of a single barrister, with the other made up of two barristers, it has emerged.
Blog
The formula for finance-enabled business development
Client concentration or over-dependence now counts as a top strategic risk for 26% of firms. Cross-selling is an antidote – a way to bolster revenue resilience without relying on client acquisition.
Whistleblowing guidance for in-house lawyers – a call to arms
In-house lawyers are in a unique position to spot wrongdoing. But reporting it is not just potentially dangerous from a personal point of view.
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.
