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| Carter
– Past, Present and Future?
By Tom Little
Chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee of the Bar Council
What is clear is that the Carter Review
has been and remains a fundamental review of legal aid funding-
nothing is sacred. However, it appears that the Bar has achieved
a number of important safeguards for its survival. Barristers will
be paid directly for Crown Court work nearly all of which will be
remunerated under a graduated fee scheme. There will be a bidding
system for VHCCs, which the Bar are likely to be able to work with
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| The
Increase in Family Court Fees place an unfair burden on people on
low and middle incomes in society
By Kevin Martin,
Law Society President
In March
On 10 January 2006 Baroness Ashton announced a massive increase
in family court fees, a result of a consultation paper produced
by the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 23 September 2005.
The consultation period ended on 18 November and over fifty responses
were received by the DCA. On 20 December the Family Proceedings
Fees (Amendment No. 2) Order 2005 was made which implemented all
but two of the proposed fee increases. |
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The hidden nexus: Is
there a role for lobbyists in the law?
Trainee barrister and former lobbyist, Thom
Dyke examines the potential for establishing a better understanding
between lawyers and lobbyists.
There is no doubting the impact caused by the publication
of David Clementi’s Review of the Regulatory Framework for
Legal Services back in December 2004. Since then, commentators have
sought to examine the opportunities for those outside the legal
profession to enter into arrangements where they hold a share of
a firms equity alongside solicitors and barristers in multi-disciplinary
partnerships (MDPs). |
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LSC
– Abolition of Specialist Support Service
By Roy Morgan, Senior Partner at Morgans Solicitors
and Chairman LAPG
The Specialist Support Service
(SSS) has been one of the few success stories to come out of the
Legal Services Commission in the last 5 years. The LSC recently
stunned both providers and users of the service by serving notice
of termination. The LSC rationalise the decision as part of its
ongoing management of fund expenditure.. |
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A
slippery slope
By Alison Hannah, Legal Action Group
When the Serious Organised Crime and
Police Act (SOCPA) was passed last year, much attention was given
to the creation of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the horrors
of human trafficking and other international organised crime. However,
it was only when s110 of the Act came into force, on 1 January 2006,
that changes to the police powers of arrest – and their consequences
– came under more detailed scrutiny. |
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London and Paris-based website developers and research consultants
Intendance, reviews the findings of their latest report investigating
the online strategy of large chambers
By James Tuke, co-founder, Intendance
A significant part of this evolutionary
process necessitates mastering the art of effective communication
using media that modern business has grown to regard as standard.
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Putting
the client first – it’s what we do! ILEX discusses Legal
Services Reform
By John Wells, President, ILEX
The Institute of Legal Executives
(ILEX) supports the objectives and principles for the regulation
of legal services as proposed by Sir David and adopted by the Government
in the White Paper. |
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What’s going on at the Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC)?
By Mark Muller, Chairman, BHRC
For those that don’t know
the Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC) is an independent committee
of the Bar Council dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law
and human rights around the world and is specifically committed
to the protection of persecuted judges, lawyers, human rights defenders
and legal organisations. |
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Provincial prospects and perks for potential pupils
By Bill
Braithwaite QC, head of Exchange Chambers
In 2005 We had 600 pupillage
applications; we out-sourced the first sift to an employment consultant,
reducing the numbers to about 30, interviewed a dozen for half an
hour each, and then put five through an intensive, two day assessment
process. At the end of that, we offered three pupillages, one commercial
and two common laws. That suggests that the Bar is a tough profession
to enter, and it is |
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SOCA--How
Serious are You?
John O’Donnell of Chiltern’s Tax Investigations Group
discusses the advent of the new agency and its interaction with
HMRC
In February 2004, David Blunkett,
the then Home Secretary announced plans to set up the Serious Organised
Crime Agency (“SOCA”), which would harness the resources
of the police National Crime Squad (“NCS”), the National
Criminal Intelligence Service (“NCIS”), the investigative
and intelligence resources of HM Customs (as it then was), specific
to drug trafficking and recovery of criminal assets, and the Immigration
Service’s work on organised immigration crime. |
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