Features

The Bar Council trips to the Gulf help open up doors that are not available to individual practitioners or chambers, writes Peter Lodder QC.  

It has never been more important to find and develop new markets for the Bar. The Business Development Mission to Oman, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar – which took place between 3 and 9 December 2010 – came less than a month after the Government published its Green Paper, Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales. We did not need this incentive, but it added to the significance that those who came from practice areas more readily associated with international work, were joined on this trip by criminal practitioners. 

Eleanor Davison examines the role of the Serious Fraud Office under the new regime 

The Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) is currently the lead agency in the UK in prosecuting cases of overseas corruption. Under s 10 of the Bribery Act 2010 the SFO is poised to become the principal enforcer of the new regime and its declared aim in exercising its prosecutorial powers is to generate a cultural change in business so that bribery is no longer acceptable. 

The new Act: a review of the main provisions, by Robert-Jan Temmink 

The much-heralded Bribery Act 2010 (“the Act”) received the Royal Assent on 8 April 2010. Previous anti-bribery law had been a hotch-potch of common law and statutory provisions from 1889 to 1916 which together were difficult to understand, hard to apply and even harder for prosecutors to use effectively. The Act abolishes the common law offences and sweeps away the 19th and 20th Century Prevention of Corruption Acts. 

Roger Smith OBE spells out what the consultation means for practitioners 

The legal aid cuts advanced by the consultation paper Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales are so deep that they will force major change to the very structure of both branches of the legal profession. 

Following WikiLeaks, Shonali Routray examines the position of UK civil servant whistleblowers. Are there safe routes for whistleblowers to raise their concerns rather than having to rely on anonymous leaks, she asks 

The dramatic twists and turns in the story of WikiLeaks and the release of over 250,000 US diplomatic “cables” – secure communications between the US State Department and American embassies around the globe dating back 50 years – raise some fundamental questions about the workings of Government. 

The aim of the BSB’s new chambers’ monitoring scheme is to help chambers comply with their regulatory requirements. Sam Stein QC and Oliver Hanmer talk to David Wurtzel about the issues raised so far.  

Sam Stein QC, Chairman of the Quality Assurance Committee of the Bar Standards Board (“BSB”) since January 2010, sees his role as one in which he is helping the Bar by enabling it to comply with the world of modern regulation. 

Andrew Neish QC believes there is evidence to suggest that the Commercial Bar has a tendency to select applicants like themselves, an academic elite. 

In order to extend access to the Bar, COMBAR’s Equality and Diversity Committee have mooted a Wild Card Scheme. The aim is to unearth potentially outstanding and unusual applicants who would otherwise have no prospect of being selected for pupillage interviews 

BLAGG provides both a social group and a support network for gay barristers. It also campaigns for equal rights, writes Christopher Rogers.  

Unlike other minorities it is not immediately apparent whether someone is gay. Most minorities, whether women, ethnic minorities or the disabled, have spent decades battling for equal access to the Bar, whereas there have always been large numbers of gay barristers; the difficulty many have faced is in being comfortable being open about their sexuality. 

Job title: Silk, 3 Verulam Buildings
Qualifications: Call 1979; QC 1997
Core areas of practice: Commercial litigation, corporate insolvency and banking. 

How do you see the year 2011 for practice at the Bar? 

I know the position of the publicly funded Bar is difficult and is likely to remain so for some time. The position of the specialist Bar, however, is quite different. There is likely to be considerable growth in most specialist fields, in particular commercial, chancery, technology and construction. Asset price deflation, recession and market volatility inevitably lead to a substantial increase in disputes between businesses. 

Nothing succeeds like a success fee: not even an exaggerated claim or one funded by a non-party, says Mark Hill QC 

Sometimes winning is not enough. Costs, which traditionally followed the event, can now have equal importance to the trial itself. A few recent cases indicate the pitfalls which practitioners would do well to avoid and the tactical advantages which can result from prudent manoeuvring on issues of costs.