Practice Toolset

Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, Chairman of the Bar  

In her speech at the 31st Bar & Young Bar Conference, held at the Westminster Plaza Hotel, on Saturday 15 October 2016, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, Chairman of the Bar, highlighted the profession’s ability, and enthusiasm, for innovation.  

A practical guide by defence and prosecution  

Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), a relatively recent addition to the UK criminal justice toolkit, allow a company which has committed a criminal offence to avoid prosecution if it complies with a range of conditions, including a hefty financial penalty. 

The winner of the 2016 Pro Bono Award, sponsored by the Bar Council, was announced at the conference. John Collins, of Zenith Chambers, has been at the Bar for six decades.   

Learning from international experience  

According to the Bar Council, on current trends, 50:50 gender balance at the Bar is unlikely ever to happen.  

Understanding outsourcing, secondments and other non-traditional ways of working  

With a title like this, it was not surprising that there was a good turnout for the morning session run by the Ethics Committee, with practitioners at every stage of their careers represented. 

Why is it that in the year 2016, video still seems like an exotic marketing tool for chambers to use? Oliver Scott argues that it’s a natural medium for barristers 

Catherine Baksi takes a look at how chambers are adapting to a pressured and competitive environment  

Despite the myriad of pressures on the Bar, the number of barristers and chambers from which they practise has grown in recent years.  

With a regulatory agenda driven by transparency and an increasingly competitive marketplace, customer service should be uppermost in barristers’ minds, writes Julie Clarke  

In January 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a market study into the provision of legal services in England and Wales across a range of legal areas – including immigration, family and employment – to see whether they are working effectively for individuals and small businesses.  

The Legal Education Foundation’s fellowship scheme for training social welfare lawyers is being extended to barristers. Matthew Smerdon explains why he hopes the fellows will become future leaders of the profession  

The Legal Education Foundation exists to help people better understand and use the law.