Profession

Is the Bar doing enough to help protect barristers’ wellbeing? Grania Langdon-Down investigates the initiatives for change   

With the launch in May of a cross-profession taskforce to support mental health and wellbeing in the legal community, is the Bar doing enough to help protect barristers? 

When will women barristers be allowed to compete on a level playing field with their male counterparts, without stereotypes intruding? As the Association of Women Barristers marks its 25th anniversary in June, co-chair Lisa Wilson reflects on progress and future direction  

‘Would you rather be a bitch or a bimbo?’ asked my criminal litigation tutor in Bar School, less than a decade ago. ‘As a woman entering the criminal Bar, those are your choices,’ he advised. 

Derek Wood CBE QC updates readers on the launch of the COIC’s new education initiative for the Bar – the Inns of Court College of Advocacy – which will expand on the ATC’s role as advocacy training provider and think tank  

On 13 June the Council of the Inns of Court (COIC) officially launches its new Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA).  

From basic ID checks to enhanced due diligence when working with the ‘politically exposed’, Melanie Mylvaganam reminds barristers of their vulnerabilities to money laundering scams – and how to avoid becoming unwittingly complicit  

Money laundering reared its ugly head again in the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ exposé.  

Have entities taken off as expected at the Bar? Scott Leonard and Michael Stacey consider the opportunities for practitioners and issues for chambers considering how to accommodate these new business models  

Much has been written about the opportunities presented to the Bar by entity regulation. When the Bar Standards Board (BSB) launched entity regulation in January 2015, it predicted over 400 entities would be authorised in the first year.  

Elizabeth Alabaster outlines the work of the Access to Justice Foundation and urges lawyers to up their efforts to seek pro bono costs  

The Access to Justice Foundation was established in 2008 by the Bar Council, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and the Law Society.  

As court fee increases and legal aid cuts continue to bite, Marian Riley-Poku assesses a High Court pro bono scheme set up to assist litigants-in-person facing corporate insolvency in the winding up court  

The cuts to legal aid and the corresponding rise in the number of litigants-in-person (LiPs) since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 came into force are well documented.  

Regulating paid McKenzie Friends and allowing them to exercise rights of audience will not benefit clients, the courts or the interests of justice, argues Sarah-Jane Bennett  

Going to court is not an everyday activity for most people. It can be (and usually is) daunting, confusing and stressful for litigants.  

Lee Moore highlights the impact of traumatic cases on barristers and the wider legal profession  

I fled pupillage in 1974 to seek refuge as in-house counsel to a marine insurance company.  

The raw numbers in today’s Silk cohort are illuminating, finds David Wurtzel, and raise wider questions as to whether a more diverse and representative rank can be achieved through a merit-based system alone  

The list of new Queen’s Counsel was published in January.