Chair's Column

Synoposis of Bar’s response to MoJ’s consultation papers on legal aid and Jackson. The Bar has concluded that most of the legal aid proposals will cause irreparable damage

Contributor
Peter Lodder QC

The Bar Council responses to the Legal Aid Consultation Green Paper and the Jackson implementation proposals have gone to the Ministry of Justice. I am very grateful to Stephen Cobb QC and his team for the enormous efforts they have made. They have produced analyses of the two sets of proposals that are well reasoned, balanced and very much in the public interest. 

An outline of the Bar Council’s strategy 

Contributor
Peter Lodder QC  

A few weeks into the year and the predominant issue remains clear: the challenges of the proposed spending cuts which will have a profound effect on both the Civil and Criminal Justice Systems. 

Reaction to the recent Government consultations 

This is my first column as your Chairman, written at the beginning of December but because of printing timetables it will not be published until January. This is an odd time. I have delivered my inaugural address setting out my hopes and aspirations for 2011, and I have been interviewed by The Times and other media. 

Nick Green QC reviews the events that shaped his year as Chairman and looks to the Bar’s future 

This is my final chance to express my thoughts as Chairman, before returning to civvy street. There is so much that has happened this year that it is hard to pull the threads together; but let me try. 

We will work to ensure the forthcoming spending cuts are implemented in a way which preserves the profession and the justice system, writes Nick Green QC 

Nick Green QC on entity regulation, direct access training courses and bidding for local authority work 

Nick Green QC issues a warning about the Comprehensive Spending Review 

Nick Green QC explains why the Bar Council has established five working groups to ensure that the Bar is prepared for future legal aid reforms 

The Bar must fight to prevent further cuts in criminal legal aid fees and aim for rate restoration as soon as possible. Nick Green QC considers how this can be achieved 

The Bar Council is changing its emphasis, writes Nick Green QC. It wishes to communicate with the Bar’s clients – and potential clients – the benefits, such as the cost effectiveness, of using the Bar 

The only person who was more surprised than I when the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice was announced was Ken Clarke QC MP himself. Nonetheless, he looked resplendent in his robes when he was sworn in, at 9.30 on 14 May in Court 4 at the Royal Courts of Justice. The entire court was awash with finery since all available judiciary were present in full garb. The formality of the event was nicely counterbalanced by the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor exchanging jokes about brown suede shoes. In addition, the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP, and Solicitor General, Edward Garnier QC MP, were also welcomed by the Lord Chief Justice to their roles. All three of the Ministry top team are barristers, as the Lord Chief recalled during the welcome when he reminded the Lord Chancellor of a divorce case in which they had been adversaries during the 1960s.