Barristers

Female barristers need to actively encourage and mentor the next generation of women at the Bar amid the continuing difficulties of achieving equality, a leading silk said last week. Jo Delahunty QC said it was the responsibility of those who have climbed the ladder “to lean down to offer a hand for others to hold as they try and climb up”.

The Bar Standards Board is to consult on removing the rule that allows one person to veto their chambers reporting anonymised data on the sexual orientation, religion and belief of all members, in a move it said was supported by LGBT+ members of the Bar.

A drastic reduction in the role of the Inns of Court in the training of barristers – to the point where barristers would not have to be members of one – and an end to the required period of 12 months for pupillages are on the table as the Bar Standards Board takes the next step in its Future Bar Training initiative.

The Legal Services Board has marked as “sufficient” action plans produced by legal regulators to introduce price transparency and release other information to the public to help with purchasing decisions. The verdict on the original action plans published at the end of June came in the wake of the regulators moving to the next stage of consulting on how they would implement transparency.

The Bar Standards Board will say today that new rules on publishing prices should extend to referral barristers as well as those handling public access work. It comes as the Council for Licensed Conveyancers also issued their plans for improving transparency to help the consumers of legal services.

The Legal Services Board has been warned against trying to force the introduction of the civil standard of proof in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal without proper consultation. The Law Society said it was “inappropriate” for the board to use performance assessments of the regulators it oversees to require them to introduce a lower standard.

Many LGBT+ barristers believe the Inns of Court are not doing enough to combat homophobia at the Bar, according to a ground-breaking study which suggested that “homophobia is stronger at the Bar than in the general population”.

A report from the body that oversees Queen’s Counsel appointments has recommended a raft of changes to encourage women to apply and bring the numbers of female silks nearer to the proportion eligible in the profession. Women appear more reluctant to apply for a number of reasons, it found.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service has delayed the start of the flexible operating hours pilot until next February, its chief executive announced today. Susan Acland-Hood also made it clear that she was listening to the concerns raised by the legal profession about both the current problems with listing and how flexible hours might work.

The Bar Standards Board issued an unprecedented public apology to a QC yesterday for the errors and delays it made in clearing him of misconduct. Welcoming the move, Khawar Qureshi QC outlined concerns about the potential for abuse of the BSB process to unfairly attack barristers.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has given strong backing to the Bar Standards Board’s proposal to reduce the standard of proof in disciplinary proceedings from the criminal to the civil standard. “[It] will be fairer on consumers, and it may act as a positive incentive for barristers to deliver good services,” the panel said.

A paralegal who pretended to be a barrister with several people, including a terminal cancer sufferer he tricked out of her life savings, has been sent to jail for eight years. The police described him as “a fantasist and vindictive when challenged”. He also falsely claimed to have a law degree from the University of London.

Lawyers are among those who could face prosecution if they fail to report information that could undermine UK financial sanctions, after a change to the law that came into force this week. “Independent legal professionals”, along with trust or company service providers, accountants and others are now captured by the European Union Financial Sanctions Regulations 2017.

The vice-president of the Court of Appeal’s criminal division has told a barrister who complained about a trial judge that she was over-sensitive and lacked an “understanding of the role of the judge in managing a jury trial”. Lady Justice Hallett said: “We do not expect counsel to behave or react in this way.”

The Mail on Sunday has been forced to publish a ruling highlighting its regulator’s serious concerns about the way it reported the conduct of a QC in a money laundering case. The newspaper was also criticised for misreporting the status of a related Solicitors Regulation Authority investigation.