Why barristers need to take a stand on jury trials

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I first went to watch jury trials at Liverpool Crown Court after a rudimentary 1980s computer careers test informed me, with the kind of brutal confidence only primitive technology can muster, that I was fit for only two possible futures: the Bar, or stage and screen. Despite having no clue what it really entailed, I chose the first, though I can see the overlap. Criminal advocacy, at its best, is performance with a moral purpose. It is theatre, yes,...

Ending Inappropriate Workplace Relationships: Toward a Ban on Sexual Relations with Juniors at the Bar

  By Emma Fielding, Barrister, the 36 Group Harriet Harman’s Independent review of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar has sent shockwaves through the profession. In general the findings and recommendations have been well received, however inevitably some have...

Inside a Murder Trial: Reflections from a Mini-Pupil

  By Jack Woolcombe I was born in April 2003. He was born in May 2003. I was sitting behind his junior counsel at the Old Bailey as a mini-pupil at Red Lion Chambers, watching him face a charge of murder. Mini-pupillages...

Developments in the public interest defence in defamation

The impact of the rapid development of the digital technology on data usage and its distribution has become one of the central topics of discussion in modern society. Media has evolved to become...

Cognitive Bias: Forensic Science  

Dr David Schudel forensic chemist at Keith Borer Consultants. According to the Oxford English dictionary, “bias” has several meanings, including: “to influence, affect (often unduly and unfairly)”. No one likes to think of themselves behaving...

The Bar Standards Board publishes its 2026-27 Business Plan

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The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published its annual business plan which details our activities and commitments for 2026-27. The year ahead will see the BSB improve performance across our frontline services as we focus on establishing operational excellence. We will do this by investing in people and resources and by building better processes and systems to handle and manage capacity in casework. Four priorities will guide our work for the year ahead: Building a high performing regulator – we will assess and investigate cases more quickly. We will prioritise eradicating backlogs by the end of the year in authorisations and give assurance that transferring qualified lawyers meet the requisite standards for entry to the Bar...

The Bar Standards Board publishes its 2026-27 Business Plan

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published its annual business plan which details our activities and commitments for 2026-27. The year ahead will see the BSB improve...

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Extradition: Women on the run

Legal Barrister -
In my job as an extradition defence barrister I deal with clients who have been arrested because they are sought by another jurisdiction to stand trial or serve a sentence for offences they have committed there. These offences may...

Forum Chambers: A Boutique Set taking on the Big Boys

Chambers are a feature of the English legal landscape which have few parallels in other countries. There are just over 400 Chambers, which come in various different shapes and sizes. There are the mega-sets which are large, which commodify the work of many of their barristers, and which often charge lower fees and have lower overheads. Being a barrister at one of those sets can feel like being a cog in a machine, with strategy and career development being...

Why barristers need to take a stand on jury trials

I first went to watch jury trials at Liverpool Crown Court after a rudimentary 1980s computer careers test informed me, with the kind of brutal confidence only primitive technology can muster, that I...

Are you an unwitting sponsor – could you be a more effective conscious sponsor?

  How sponsorship helps career development with relatively little effort. At the ICWA garden party in June 2025  Lady Simler’s keynote...
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Immigrants in the UK: When Vilification Becomes Policy and Peril

“When political rhetoric turns a human being into an...

Short-Term Politics, Long-Term Decline: Britain’s Economic Risk

The UK government’s recent policy direction prioritises immigration controls,...

Politicians and Political Parties Jumping on the Immigration Bandwagon Expose themselves as lacking the ability-or the willingness-to think deeply, act responsibly, or offer real...

Immigration is one of the most hotly debated topics...

The Mags Court- Tippin the broken scales

Like many criminal barristers, I entered the profession with...
In Brief

The Bar Standards Board publishes its 2026-27 Business Plan

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has published its annual business plan which details our activities and commitments for 2026-27. The year ahead will see the BSB improve...

Ending Inappropriate Workplace Relationships: Toward a Ban on Sexual Relations with Juniors at the Bar

  By Emma Fielding, Barrister, the 36 Group Harriet Harman’s Independent review of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar has sent shockwaves through the...

Inside a Murder Trial: Reflections from a Mini-Pupil

  By Jack Woolcombe I was born in April 2003. He was born in May 2003. I was sitting behind his junior counsel at the Old...

Barristers urge government to deliver specialist courts for sexual and domestic abuse cases, instead of restricting jury trials

Barristers are calling on the government to honour its 2024 manifesto promise and set up specialist sexual and domestic abuse courts, rather than restrict...

Why barristers need to take a stand on jury trials

I first went to watch jury trials at Liverpool Crown Court after a rudimentary 1980s computer careers test informed me, with the kind of...
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