Chambers

Names: Mark Ellison QC and Martin Secrett
Positions: Criminal/Fraud Silk and Senior Clerk
Chambers: QEB Hollis Whiteman 

Belle Turner reports on the recent YBS seminar “All Change? Or not? For the Young Bar”.  

At this time of great change at the Bar there is some concern as to whether young barristers at a grassroots level are engaged with the potentially career-changing decisions that senior members of chambers may be taking on behalf of their members. There is no small irony that, as a young barrister in a set wishing to become a Legal Disciplinary Practice (“LDP”), for example, the senior members of chambers may profit considerably from the work of the juniors for many years before the juniors themselves benefit. There is a sense in many of the emails which I receive that this wasn’t what people signed up for. 

There is a real possibility that new areas of work can now flow directly into the Bar, believes Nick Green QC 

THE Bar Council, the Approved Regulator for barristers in England and Wales, has appointed Toby Craig as its first Head of Communications. 

Name: Timothy Scott QC     Position: Family Law Silk 

Name: Laura Heaton            Position: Family Law Barrister / Finance Director 

Chambers: 29 Bedford Row 

The Legal Services Act has dramatically reformed the regulatory landscape for barristers, allowing practise in new business structures
alongside other barristers, legal professionals and nonlawyers. 

THE Chairman of the Bar, Nicholas Green QC, has called for the Bar to continue to modernise as it enters a new era of legal services provision. Speaking at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Legal and Constitutional Affairs in the House of Lords, Nick Green QC will set out the challenges facing the Bar following the implementation of the Legal Services Act and outlined how the Bar is responding. The meeting, entitled The Legal Services Act: Opportunities for Consumers and Professionals, was chaired by Lord Brennan QC. David Edmonds, the Chairman of the Legal Services Board, and Bob Heslett, the President of the Law Society, addressed the group alongside Nicholas Green QC. 

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Chairman of the Bar, Nicholas Green QC said: 

‘The Bar Standards Board took a historic decision in November 2009 to change the Bar’s practice rules. If these changes are approved by the Legal Services Board, barristers could take advantage of new structures to deliver specialist advisory and advocacy services and to work in partnership with other providers of legal services. The Bar is currently facing huge regulatory as well as market
challenges. In order to continue to provide services which clients and consumers continue to need, the Bar needs to adapt its business model and consider new ways of working. I am confident we can do this. Indeed, it is clear to me that many Chambers are already well advanced in their plans for change. The Bar Council has been running a series of nationwide road shows about the future of the profession in the new regulatory environment. Taking account of the feedback we have received from practitioners up and down the country, we expect shortly to provide guidance on options for change for Chambers to consider and adapt as they see fit to suit their own needs and circumstances.The feedback we have receiving from the profession has been enormously positive. It is clear that many barristers, particularly those with publicly funded practices which are under considerable financial pressure from planned cuts in legal aid, are eager to develop their business models. Many chambers are developing innovative new models of practice.’ 

Equality & Diversity

In response to a growing demand from the Bar for Equality and Diversity Awareness Training, and to the recommendation for such training in the Neuberger Report on Entry to the Bar, the Bar Council Equality and Diversity Committee has produced a diversity training toolkit. The model is designed to raise awareness of the equality issues that arise at the Bar through a series of worked exercises and is drawn from the practical experience of applying equality and diversity policies in chambers. The course is accompanied by written information on the equalities legislative framework and sessions are aimed at providing a brief and practical introduction to the diversity compliance requirements that affect the Bar. The programme runs for one and a half hours and qualifies for CPD accreditation. Courses based on the diversity toolkit are open to barristers, pupils, clerks and practice managers. Chambers Equal Opportunity Officers are particularly encouraged to attend. If you would like to attend a course please contact Angela Campbell at the Bar Council in the Equality and Diversity Unit acampbell@barcouncil.org.uk

Adrian Hughes QC and Steven Thompson discuss the Bar Council’s engagement with China’s rapidly developing legal market.  

Change in China has been rapid and extraordinary since the first visit of a Bar Council delegation 20 years ago. At that time, the Pu Dong commercial area of Shanghai was still marshland and the emerging Chinese legal profession entering only its second decade. Now, as the main image of Pu Dong’s financial district shows (see below), the landscape is completely different. 

Nick Green QC explains why the Bar Council is preparing to commence judicial review proceedings against the government 

Throughout January and early February I visited a number of cities in England and Wales (Cardiff, Winchester, Leeds, York, Birmingham and Manchester) and spoke to nearly 1,000 members of the Bar at the road shows. I have also visited over 30 sets of chambers and had conversations with numerous clerks and practice managers. The process is ongoing and I am planning further visits to chambers over the next few months. I am very grateful for the warm welcome that I have received. The exercise has been extraordinarily informative in enabling me to obtain a more precise and educated view of the day-to-day problems of the Bar.