Counsel Magazine

Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice since January 2021, is well known for his passion for access to justice and all things digital. Perhaps less widely known is the driven personality and wanderlust that lies behind this, as Anthony Inglese CB discovers 

How to achieve real and sustainable change for women in law? Hena Vissian, Chair of the Midland Circuit Women’s Forum, shares two generations of lessons learnt 

Fahrid Chishty, an Inns of Court Pegasus Scholar for 2023-24, reflects on allyship, international practice and the importance of knowing oneself 

Jenna Lucas meets the financial remedy silks to find out how each forged their path to silk and brought led money work back to the Northern Bar – along with the responsibility that brings and the importance of a side hustle 

‘The Bar is a treadmill. It is important to raise your eyes and look ahead,’ says Lord Stephens who gave himself five years to make it as a barrister. Now a Supreme Court Justice, he gives Anthony Inglese CB a fascinating insight into life and practice in Northern Ireland as well as the UK’s top court 

Eight top tips to build the foundations for a diverse career, as well as practice management more generally. By Charlotte Pope-Williams 

Breadth of roles makes us better lawyers, says Edward Bennett, who acts as Registrar of the BIOT Court of Appeal alongside his busy family practice 

Brie Stevens-Hoare KC and Lyndsey de Mestre KC take a look at the difficulties women encounter during the menopause, and offer some practical tips for individuals and chambers to make things easier 

See probationary tenancy as a fresh opportunity to impress a new group of decision-makers, advises Abiodun Olatokun 

How to navigate open source evidence in an era of deepfakes. By Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees and Professor Alexa Koenig 

In this update on his Independent Review of Disclosure, Jonathan Fisher KC focuses on the miscellany of problems which need to be addressed right across the disclosure regime 

Stephen Mason sets out how the legal presumption, which exposed widespread misunderstanding about the nature of computer failures and caused serious widespread injustice, came into effect 

The legal system has been both a help and a hindrance, says Bharat Malkani who reflects on the relationship between law and racial justice in the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the Race Relations Act 

Marcia Hyde and Carol Day examine wildlife’s dire decline and the lack of effective legal remedy. Using the examples of the badger and hen harrier, they illustrate how difficult it can be to use the law for the purpose it was enacted 

Art, including music, should be protected as a fundamental form of freedom of expression and not used to unfairly implicate individuals, argues Ifẹ Thompson

Jasvir Singh trails this summer’s celebrations, open to all and with the theme ‘Free to Be Me’, by focusing on the diversity of South Asian heritage barristers and judges, and the trailblazers who led the way 

Is anyone up for a challenge? asks William Byfield

Daniel Barnett reviews the Barbican’s summer musical – a ‘meta-theatrical take on The Taming of the Shrew ’

Off with their wigs! William Byfield has no objection in principle

By Jennifer Stawska (HH Stephen Wildblood KC)

Championing underrepresented talent, 10K Black Interns 2024 is open for applications. Mentee Tendai Chiguvare and mentor Anna Walsh share their experience of the summer internship scheme at the Bar 

Bibi Badejo reports from a packed Inns of Court Women’s Alliance event examining the experiences of Black women barristers and imparting crucial advice for Black women navigating the legal profession 

Ensuring recruitment processes are fair, and free from bias, is essential to drive diversity at the Bar. Bindi Dholakia and Rachel Krys examine the theory and practice 

The North Eastern Circuit Leader on his trailblazing career, turbulent early years of practice and his mission to equip all barristers, regardless of their characteristics, with the opportunity to thrive. Interview by Glenn Parsons  

The Vice Chair-elect of the Bar talks to Michael V Sternberg KC about her election (and how she got there), why it is now time to raise the voice of the Family Bar, and her continued drive for equality, diversity and inclusion 

How to navigate open source evidence in an era of deepfakes. By Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees and Professor Alexa Koenig 

Alex Goodman KC on why our electoral laws need an urgent upgrade – they were not designed to address the corruption of popular opinion by AI and deepfakes 

The reluctance of governments to set agreed universal standards will inevitably mean that regulators have to fill the gap, says Sara Ibrahim. How are UK regulators preparing and what are the issues facing practitioners? 

Jeremy Barnett and David Ormerod CBE KC (Hon) explore the emerging technologies and principles at stake 

With AI models the subject of litigation worldwide, courts are grappling with what copyright protects, what it should  protect, and how. Mark Wilden reports 

The Bar Council crunches the data to tell the real story of who gets pupillage... and when 

Newly minted Bar graduates compete at a ratio of 300:1 for a golden ticket to Wonka’s Criminal Justice Factory. The Secret Barrister explains why…

The Bar Standards Board on what you need to know about training to become a barrister in England and Wales

Laurence Cooper explores the high-stakes world of choosing a Bar training course provider

How to fund training is often a student’s biggest concern. Here, Rose Malleson takes a look at the types of scholarship and financing options available