The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published a 10-page consultation paper to consider views about lowering the standard of proof for prosecuting barristers accused of professional misconduct. Continue reading “Lowering the bar: BSB to consult on standard of proof in professional misconduct cases”
Fortunes at the Bar remain sharply split between haves and have-nots, with new research projecting just over 2,000 barristers now earning less than £30,000 annually, while at the other end of the spectrum, 2,562 are on course to earn over £240,000 during the current financial year.
Over 500 barristers have condemned proposals from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to reform the regime for barristers-in-training.
High-profile members of the profession, such as former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, are among the 505 signatories of an open letter to the BSB, criticising its suggestions for restructuring the exam process.
Senior disputes partners from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), King & Spalding and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have taken silk in the latest round of QC appointments, where 113 were selected out of a round of 254 candidates. Continue reading “Freshfields, HSF and Skadden heavyweights among 113 new QCs in latest record round”
Sir Stephen Tomlinson will retire from the Court of Appeal and re-join 7 King’s Bench Walk (7KBW) as a full-time arbitrator effective from 11 January.
Matrix Chambers has concluded an investigation into top silk Ben Emmerson QC following allegations of sexual assault during his work on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and found he did not commit any act of sexual assault or harassment. Continue reading “Matrix Chambers clears Ben Emmerson QC after investigation into sexual assault allegations”
The representative body for barristers, the Bar Council, has proposed a 12% fee hike for practising certificates at the Bar in order to plug a hole in pension funds. It wants to raise fees until 2021 when it projects it can eliminate its existing deficit. Continue reading “Bar Council plans new fee hike to plug pensions shortfall”
Leading commercial set Brick Court Chambers has made another key junior hire with 20 Essex Street rising star Edward Ho. Ho appeared as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court and in arbitration.
Continue reading “Brick Court continues hiring spree with 20 Essex Street junior star”
After pressure from lobby groups at the commercial Bar, DAC Beachcroft has amended its contractual arrangements with its preferred sets of chambers to reinstate a key contract clause that gives barristers insurance cover.
Mid-tier sets are continuing to feel the pressure of a squeezed legal market at the commercial Bar as it has emerged that Stone Chambers is to be acquired by national set St Philips Chambers.
Continue reading “Bar consolidation continues as St Philips acquires ailing Stone Chambers”
