Social Mobility at the Bar: The Hidden Psychological Cost of Access

Latest Post Barrister -
“You need to understand that you’ll be competing against people who have been conditioned their entire lives to believe the Bar belongs to them.” These words, said to me by a mentor while I was applying for pupillage, have stayed with me since because they identified something that the language of merit tends to obscure. By Aleister Adamson, Barrister, 25 Bedford Row They were not saying that other candidates were more intelligent or industrious. They were describing the advantage of having been...

Animal law shouldn’t be restricted by borders

  By V Victoria Shroff, KC, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics The growing loss of wildlife globally should unite countries in the same way the climate crisis demands global cooperation as animals, ecosystems, and economies are interconnected. Examining animal protection laws and practices...

Litigation Funding, PACCAR, and the Battle for Access to Justice

In the context of English law, few technicalities have threatened to derail the machinery of justice as profoundly as the Supreme Court’s decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others...

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...

‘Justice prevails’: Bar Council hails government decision to scrap jury trial plans  

Breaking News Barrister -
The Bar Council welcomes the government announcement that it will no longer be scrapping jury trials ahead of the Courts and Tribunals Bill returning to Parliament. The Ministry of Justice has announced that it will no longer be replacing juries with a single judge in some cases. However, it will remove the right to elect a jury trial, increase magistrates’ sentencing powers and allow some technical and lengthy fraud and financial offences to be heard by a judge alone instead of a jury. Responding to the announcement, Bar Council Chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said: “This is a significant and welcome move away from reducing the only part of the criminal justice system that actually...

Social Mobility at the Bar: The Hidden Psychological Cost of Access

“You need to understand that you’ll be competing against people who have been conditioned their entire lives to believe the Bar belongs to them.” These...

POPULAR CATEGORIES

AnalysisBreaking NewsComment & OpinionEditors PickExpert Witness ServicesFeatured ArticleForensicsIn BriefLatest Post

Orams Revisited

Legal Barrister -
Effective Control, Criminalisation, and the Misuse of EU and International Law in Cyprus Property Disputes  Opinion Piece by Lennart Poulsen, Barrister at 9BR Chambers  Introduction Few cases in European private international law have been as persistently mischaracterised as Apostolides v Orams. What was,...

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...

Bar Council reacts to new ICC sanctions

The Trump administration has announced new sanctions against the president and a senior lawyer of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Chair of the Bar Council Kirsty Brimelow KC said: “The Bar Council of England and...

The Direct Access Market Has Changed. Has the Bar Kept Up?

  By Rory Nunn, Head of Direct Access, Barrister Connect Introduced in 2004, direct access represented one of the most significant...
Comment & Opinion

From Courtroom to Legislature: The dual paths of influence in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s most contentious social questions rarely travel down...

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...

The Major Political Parties and Their Pledges for the Family Justice System in 2024

  Author: Baldip Singh, Barrister No5 Barristers’ Chambers My trial settled...
In Brief

Social Mobility at the Bar: The Hidden Psychological Cost of Access

“You need to understand that you’ll be competing against people who have been conditioned their entire lives to believe the Bar belongs to them.” These...

‘Justice prevails’: Bar Council hails government decision to scrap jury trial plans  

The Bar Council welcomes the government announcement that it will no longer be scrapping jury trials ahead of the Courts and Tribunals Bill returning...

Bar Council responds to legal complaints case fees proposals  

The Office for Legal Complaints recently carried out a public consultation on changes to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) scheme rules, case fees and publishing...

AI disputes in 2026: are legislation and case law keeping pace?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly moved from an emerging technology to a key aspect of business operations. Organisations across a variety of sectors use...

Bar Council reacts to new ICC sanctions

The Trump administration has announced new sanctions against the president and a senior lawyer of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Chair of the Bar Council...
Editors Pick
Must Read