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A year like no other: a chambers’ perspective

31 March 2021 / Jane Bewsey KC
Issue: 7927 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Covid-19 , Profession
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How have chambers changed in the face of the COVID crisis? One year on, Jane Bewsey QC of Red Lion Chambers provides a status report

With 23 March 2020 marking the anniversary of the first lockdown, it seems like a good time to look back over the year of COVID-19—and what a very long year it has felt. In April 2020, I wrote about how our chambers, Red Lion Chambers (RLC), was coping with the nature of the crisis and what impact it was expected to have on our work and working practices. I wrote at a time when the courts were shut, the work pipeline had been turned off, and there were very real fears about the future survival prospects for many chambers and individuals practising at the independent Bar.

One year on, we have seen some courts reopening, we have learnt how to do remote hearings, and Teams/Zoom meetings have become a routine part of all our lives. Each of us has had our own

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
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The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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