BARRISTER MAGAZINE

We are All Trudi Warner! Promoting the Rights of Jurors in the Twenty First Century

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By Richard Vogler, Professor of Comparative Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, University of Sussex George Orwell noticed the tendency of repressive law to degenerate into farce, when truth becomes a lie and common sense is heresy. This is worth remembering today, when the Solicitor General, Michael Tomlinson KC, has concluded that it is a prosecutable offence for a climate campaigner, Trudi Warner to hold up a sign outside a criminal court, simply proclaiming one of the fundamental principles of the...

New legislation providing additional rights for carers, expecting parents and new parents

By Louise Lawrence, Partner at Winckworth Sherwood On 24 May 2023, three family-friendly bills received Royal Assent: The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill; The Carer’s Leave Bill, and The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill, which have...

Will a new failure to prevent fraud offence address the UK’s most commonly committed criminal offence?

Fraud is now the most common criminal offence in the UK. It accounts for 41% of all crimes committed and costs us an estimated £7 billion per year (based on statistics for 2019-2020). Comparison of figures for the years...

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...

Evidence from computers – the unreliable legal presumption that, without more, it can be relied upon

By Stephen Mason and Daniel Seng, editors, Electronic Evidence and Electronic Signatures (5th edition, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies for the SAS Humanities Digital Library, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2021) On 16th July...

BSB publishes new guidance on barristers’ conduct in non-professional life and on social media

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Following the conclusion of the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) consultation on conduct in non-professional life, the BSB Board has approved new guidance which we are publishing today. The guidance includes revised Social Media Guidance, new Guidance on the Regulation of Non-Professional Conduct, the BSB’s response to the consultation and revisions to BSB Handbook guidance. The Guidance on the Regulation of Non-Professional Conduct seeks to clarify where the regulatory boundaries lie in relation to conduct that occurs outside the scope of a barrister’s professional practice. Such conduct may be of regulatory interest to the BSB because it can have an impact upon public confidence in the barrister or the profession. The rules and duties in the BSB Handbook which apply...

We are All Trudi Warner! Promoting the Rights of Jurors in the Twenty First Century

By Richard Vogler, Professor of Comparative Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, University of Sussex George Orwell noticed the tendency of repressive law to degenerate into...

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With great respect, that is a bad legal argument: ‘respect’, courtesy or insult?

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By David Wright1, Helen Murray-Edwards2, Jeremy Robson2, Natalie Braber1 1School of Arts and Humanities, Nottingham Trent University 2Leicester De Montfort Law School “Eighteen of Mr Tangle’s learned friends, each armed with a little summary of eighteen hundred sheets, bob up like eighteen...

Investment urgently needed to ensure future of criminal defence profession

I have spent the last 15 years fighting on behalf of the Law Society’s members for the pay their vital work deserves, which is necessary to make the criminal defence profession sustainable and ensure access to justice for victims, witnesses and defendants. Criminal defence solicitors have gone a staggering quarter of a century without a significant funding hike. It is hard to think of any other profession where the fees payable are stuck in a mid-90s time warp. Unsurprisingly given the...

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Bar Council announces new contextual recruitment tool to boost social mobility at the Bar

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Chair of the Bar calls for change to timing of Call in future-gazing speech

Chair of the Bar Nick Vineall KC has called on the profession to call people to the Bar only when they have completed pupillage. The present system means that the title of barrister...

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Fixed recoverable costs: Bar Council insists on pay for work done

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3- Silk solutions from St Johns Building for arbitration

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The Spire Foundation beginnings

In 2016, we broke away from being a fully common law set, re-naming as Spire Barristers and re-branding to...

Cognitive Bias: Forensic Science

Evidence from computers – the unreliable legal presumption that, without more, it can be relied upon

Comment & Opinion

Raising the Bar for Working Parents

When New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern resigned recently,...

Religious observances and festivals – what are my employers’ obligations?

By Aleksandra Traczyk, Associate at Winckworth Sherwood There are many...

Delays to surrogacy law reform creating risk for babies

Surrogacy is on the rise. Ministry of Justice statistics...

Can sentencing for police officer offenders be improved?

By Ellie Watson Pupil Barrister at Crown Prosecution Service,...

In Brief

We are All Trudi Warner! Promoting the Rights of Jurors in the Twenty First Century

By Richard Vogler, Professor of Comparative Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, University of Sussex George Orwell noticed the tendency of repressive law to degenerate into...

BSB publishes new guidance on barristers’ conduct in non-professional life and on social media

Following the conclusion of the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) consultation on conduct in non-professional life, the BSB Board has approved new guidance which we are...

Quincecare[1] duty does not require banks to second-guess customers’ clear instructions: Fiona Philipp v Barclays Bank UK PLC [2023] UKSC 25

Introduction In July 2023, the Supreme Court in Philipp v Barclays Bank UK PLC unanimously held that when a customer clearly authorises and instructs a...

Bar Council announces new contextual recruitment tool to boost social mobility at the Bar

The Bar Council is boosting its commitment to social mobility at the Bar with the introduction of a contextual recruitment tool to the Pupillage...

Chair of the Bar calls for change to timing of Call in future-gazing speech

Chair of the Bar Nick Vineall KC has called on the profession to call people to the Bar only when they have completed pupillage....