Practice Toolset

Amidst official inquiries, media exposes and NGO research condemning the UK’s immigration detention practices, lawyers’ accounts reveal a system riddled with injustice. Dr Anna Lindley reports  

‘You are not much of a lawyer if you are not startled by the State’s power of indefinite detention, or the poor decision-making which results in many remaining in detention when they plainly should not be.’ 

Jonathan Fisher QC shares his experiences after a year of practising through a BSB authorised entity and the tensions between maintaining relationships with professional referrers whilst encouraging direct access  

It is a little over 12 months since I started to practise through a Bar Standards Board (BSB) authorised entity, which has enabled me to embrace the modernity of legal practice whilst maintaining the heritage of a barrister’s chambers.  

Findings from a survey of the LGBT+ Bar make for hard reading, say Steven Vaughan and Marc Mason, who outline what we know and what needs to be done
 

Acutely aware of the economic realities facing the profession, Andrew Walker QC, Chair of the Bar for 2018, talks to Mary Cowe about his plans to lead and develop the Bar during his term of office  

Drawn to the commercial Bar after a youthful flirtation with economics, Andrew Walker QC is a Chair who understands that to some extent you do have to look at life at the Bar through a business lens, whatever your practice area. 

There must be zero tolerance on sexual harassment at the Bar, writes Andrew Langdon QC  

Sexual harassment must not be tolerated at the Bar, or in any other walk of life. 

Can adopting techniques from the acting world enhance your advocacy? Barrister-turned-actor Chan Shoker explains how performance skills can build courtroom charisma and control 

Drawing on their recent research on fee-charging McKenzie Friends, Emma Hitchings and Leanne Smith suggest it’s time to shift the focus away from their work in the courts 

A project documenting the heritage of women in law has blossomed into a wider movement. Its founder Dana Denis-Smith picks some inspirational examples, past and present, public and personal 

As Wales welcomes its first Supreme Court Justice, David Hughes bemoans linguistic infelicities and says a separate jurisdiction is overdue 

While the courtroom is still the preserve of the human advocate, lawbots are shuffling into legal services elsewhere. Rupert Jones puts the market leaders to the test