Features

Mark Hatcher reviews the recent government reshuffle and its implications for the Bar.  

The government reshuffle which took place in mid-July – almost 52 years to the day after Harold Macmillan’s ”night of the long knives”, when seven Cabinet members (a third of the total, including the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir) were sacked – was much more wide-ranging than expected. 

An interview with Simon Thornton-Wood by Rupert Jones of Citadel Chambers.  

Simon Thornton-Wood is head of education and training at the Bar Standards Board. He’s not a lawyer, in fact, he previously worked for the Royal Horticultural Society, but says that experience helps him in his role: “It puts me in the sorts of shoes that barristers are in, having the intellectual confidence to pick up whole new subject areas with a brief and approach it with a fresh mind.” 

Two recent reports present an intriguing insight into the life of the modern barrister, as David Wurtzel reports.  

Published within weeks of one another, the second Barristers’ Working Lives and the annual Bar Barometer give a fascinating picture of who we are and what we think. 

How can direct access barristers avoid adverse rulings by the Legal Ombudsman? Adam Sampson reports.  

In February, the Administrative Court quashed a decision of the Ombudsman on the complaint of a client that a barrister had provided a “poor service” and remitted the matter for further consideration in the light of his judgment. It was the first successful judicial review against our scheme since we began to deal with cases over three years ago. 

Chris McWatters weighs up the pros and cons of a Law Commission proposal to make prenuptial agreements binding in court.  

Most fiancés would find the prospect of making a prenuptial agreement before their big day in church about as much in the joyful spirit of things as cold wet weather on the wedding morning. How can you make a holy vow to remain together for eternity, while at the same time calculating how the marital spoils should be divided if you separate? 

Sir Hugh Bennett assesses the progress of the family law finance arbitration scheme.  

In 2012, the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA), a company limited by guarantee, was set up with a board of directors chaired by former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer of Thoroton. It is responsible for the implementation and administration of the family law finance arbitration scheme. The qualified arbitrators, now numbering 130 with more to come, have all been trained in arbitral techniques and have a good working knowledge of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1986). Each must become a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is subject to its disciplinary code. Solicitors, barristers, QCs and retired judges, all of whom are, or were, full-time practicing family lawyers, comprise the corps of arbitrators under the scheme. They are therefore real specialists in the field of family finance law. 

Nichola Higgins and Quinton Newcomb cast a spotlight on Deferred Prosecution Agreements.  

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) are a US imported mechanism, by which a company can admit corrupt or fraudulent behaviour, agree to a number of measures designed to ensure that such conduct cannot recur, pay a sum of money to compensate any victims and disgorge itself of any illicitly gained profit, while avoiding a criminal conviction and consequent difficulties for its business – which include the ability to bid for public tenders. 

The United Nations risks again overlooking the rule of law in African development, says Suella Fernandes.  

I first visited Rwanda in 2008 with a group of volunteer lawyers as part of the Conservative Party’s Project Umubano. I went with Andrew Mitchell MP to teach advocacy, legal drafting, negotiation and substantive law to judges, government lawyers, community justice lawyers and law students. After further projects in sub-Saharan Africa, I co-founded the Africa Justice Foundation (AJF) with Cherie Blair CBE QC, which aims to build legal capacity in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors through education and professional skills training. We work in partnership with governments, academic institutions, Bar associations, and legal bodies in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. We are driven by the desire to contribute to the development of robust, stable and predictable legal systems that meet the needs of both the citizens of those countries and the regional and globally competitive environments of which they are a part. 

Job title 

Former High Court Judge of the Commercial Court (1992-2007); Presiding Judge (2006-2007); former Deputy Chief Justice, DIFC Court, Dubai (2010-2013); arbitrator member of 24 Lincoln’s Inn Fields and Arbitration Chambers, Singapore. 

Holiday plans are spoiled by a dose of reality.  

August is traditionally a time for holidaying, resting, recharging the batteries and cogitating. However, there is always something nagging in the background. Just as I was packing my suitcases with horrific shirts, brightly coloured towels and those dreadful swimming shorts, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that there was an uncompleted questionnaire lying on my study desk about the future of the Bar.