Lifestyle

Inspired by Chaucer’s great poem and calling for an end to indefinite detention, this year’s Refugee Tales embarks from Runnymede. Join all or part of an uplifting journey, writes Josephine Henderson  

The Chairman’s Column on indefinite immigration detention in the March issue of Counsel  sparked huge interest, and readers may also be interested to know about a walk from Runnymede to Westminster from 1 to 5 July 2017.  

Rachel Spearing introduces the UK’s first Wellness for Law Forum  

March saw the launch of a new initiative to support ongoing work to improve health and wellbeing at the Bar.  

Dermot Feenan explores the place of compassion in legal practice  

The Family Law Bar Association obituary of Sir Nicholas Wall, formerly President of the Family Division, stated Sir Nicholas was a compassionate judge who ‘thought and cared deeply about the outcome of his cases’ – a reminder that justice and compassion are not seen to be necessarily incompatible. There are many reasons why compassion has a role to play in practice. 

If you put a man in harm’s way then realise you made a mistake, shouldn’t you at least try to make amends? 100 years on, David Hewitt examines the case of Joseph Blackburn who didn’t want to go to war and fought only because a military tribunal forced him to  

During the Great War, the task of deciding whether men must fight or could be given exemption was usually performed by a local tribunal.  

Counsel interviews The Secret Barrister, who started out as a counterweight to media misinformation and is the third legal commentator in a row named Independent Blogger of the Year (Comment Awards 2016)  

Where did the inspiration come from for the blog? 

A critically acclaimed exhibition of a death row inmate’s life’s art has travelled from Arkansas to Temple Church. Samantha Knights explains Kenneth Reams’ journey  

Kenneth Reams sits in a tiny room working on an installation in readiness for the opening of his art exhibition in Little Rock, Arkansas.  

Following the capsizing uncertainty generated by Brexit, the general public and businesses are increasingly looking for answers. No surprise, then, that the Bar has become a rich source of reliable and politically neutral information on a wide range of complex legal issues, deciphering events as they happen. Counsel brings you the cream of the Brexit Bar blog crop  

While pro bono work is a significant part of how the Bar gives back to society, over a third of barristers volunteer for charity work outside their profession. Haresh Sood inspires with some alternative ways of giving  

We all see and hear of people doing charity runs, walks and triathlons for a number of causes, which is a valuable source of fundraising.  

From its earliest beginnings in 18th century England to today’s street protests, Paul Harris explains why the right to demonstrate still matters  

The legal and practical issues surrounding street demonstrations have remained remarkably similar over the 200 years since the idea of peaceful demonstrations was first thought of.  

Counsel speaks to Jolyon Maugham QC, the tax law blogger Waiting for Godot  

Where did the inspiration come from to write the blog?