Barristers

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.

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”.

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.

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.

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.

Well-known Lincoln’s Inn set Hardwicke Chambers is to change its name to Gatehouse Chambers in recognition of the role of Lord Hardwicke in perpetuating slavery in the 18th century.

A female victim of sexual assault by a male barrister has spoken about how she was let down by her chambers, the Bar Standards Board and the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service.

A family law barrister has been suspended from the innovative business she founded after being accused of making racist comments about the new Royal baby.

The Legal Services Board is set to recommend an accreditation scheme for review and comparison websites as take-up among both law firms and consumers continues to rise.

A barrister who practised while suspended following his high-profile conviction for possession of drugs that led to the death of his boyfriend has been sanctioned but not suspended or disbarred.

Complaints about the law officers not standing up to the government over potentially breaking international law contributed to a huge increase in reports made to the Bar Standards Board.

Measures taken by frontline legal regulators to improve diversity and inclusion are insufficient and based on inadequate evidence, according to a report published today.

A barrister who cannot be sued for initial advice to a housing client for limitation reasons can be sued for a later, overlapping piece of advice on the same case, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

A barrister sanctioned for talking to the opposing lay client in the absence of their lawyer had switched from criminal to family law and “was simply not on top” of the rules, it has emerged.

The Bar Standards Board is taking action against the barrister who caused a storm of outrage by tweeting about “the stroppy teenager of colour”, he has confirmed.