The Bar

Articles

Advocacy group asked to rewrite new quality assurance scheme rules

The SRA board has asked the group of experts set up to design a quality advocacy assurance scheme for all criminal advocates to reconsider some of the rules amid concerns that judges carrying out advocate assessment could be biased against solicitors.

Bar attacks LSB for failing to ban referral fees for advocates

The Bar Council has said it is “surprised and disappointed” that the LSB failed to ban referral fees.

Barristers to play full part in ABS firms

Barristers will be allowed to play a full part in ABS firms, the Bar Standards Board has announced.

Human rights Grand Chamber rejects appeals on prisoner voting

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has rejected requests for referrals by the British government and by a Scottish prisoner over the issue of whether prisoners should have the right to vote.

SRA chairman suggests single regulator for legal profession

Charles Plant, chairman of the SRA, has suggested that at some point in the future there should be a single regulator for the legal profession.

Back to basics

Jonathan Smithers harks back to a time of the beautiful contract

Law Commission outlines tougher rules for experts in criminal trials

A statutory reliability test for experts in criminal trials “would prevent miscarriages of justice” such as the conviction of solicitor Sally Clark for the killing of her two baby boys, a Law Commissioner has said.

Divide and conquer

Forget divorce tourism – what about the impact of a divorce staycation? Scott Cochrane and Alex Carruthers consider the Hadrian's Wall effect on splits north and south of the border