The Vanishing Court: Litigants in Person and the Future of Civil Justice

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By Jacob J Meagher* According to Ministry of Justice statistics, in the County Court from July to September 2025 at least 59% of civil cases had an unrepresented party. With civil legal aid an increasing improbability for even the most impecunious, and the 2026 Solicitor Guideline Hourly Rates having increased to £579 (plus vat) at the top end, one does wonder about the state of civil justice in England and Wales. The rule in Barton v Wright Hassall LLP ...

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...

From Nuanced to Negligible: Ethical Behaviour Among Barristers in Context

The title of this piece was based on a claim made by the Bar Council some time ago, (suggesting the claim predates the pandemic), which was that ‘unethical behaviour among barristers is more limited and nuanced than in other...

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...

Jury proposals “a cure worse than the disease” – founding head of Doughty Street Chambers, Geoffrey Robertson KC

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To coincide with this week’s committee stage of the Courts and Tribunals Bill, which threatens to significantly restrict jury trials, the Bar Council is publishing a polemical attack on the proposal by Geoffrey Robertson KC, founding head of Doughty Street Chambers. In his treatise ‘For Mercy’s Sake’, Mr Robertson explains how the government has overlooked the constitutional importance of trial by jury – to stand up independently against the state and to extend mercy to defendants who deserve it. He suggests that the Bill will work to worsen delays in the court system and recommends alternative measures that can eliminate them. Mr Robertson’s report traces the history of jury trials and...

The Vanishing Court: Litigants in Person and the Future of Civil Justice

By Jacob J Meagher* According to Ministry of Justice statistics, in the County Court from July to September 2025 at least 59% of civil cases...

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Extradition: Women on the run

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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...

Phil Golding appointed Director General of the Bar Standards Board 

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has appointed Phil Golding to be its new Director General. He will take up the role on 1 July, which has been covered in the interim by Steve...

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...
Comment & Opinion

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...

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The Vanishing Court: Litigants in Person and the Future of Civil Justice

By Jacob J Meagher* According to Ministry of Justice statistics, in the County Court from July to September 2025 at least 59% of civil cases...

The growing influence of non-court dispute resolution in the family law space

  By Jack Henry, Barrister, Henry Chambers Professionals who work within the family law space have witnessed a transformation in how family disputes can be...

Ceasing to maintain an EHCP for a child of service personnel on deployment abroad: a Court of Appeal test case with wider implications for...

    By Holly Littlewood, Barrister, Spire Barristers In the recent case of Hampshire County Council v GC and another EWCA Civ 20, the Court...

Unmatched contributions in financial remedy proceedings

Financial remedy proceedings are concerned with achieving a fair outcome taking into account the factors under Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973....

Phil Golding appointed Director General of the Bar Standards Board 

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has appointed Phil Golding to be its new Director General. He will take up the role on 1 July,...
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