header-logo header-logo

All Bar none

20 May 2010 / Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC
Issue: 7418 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail

Receiving the usual crop of invitations from barristers’ chambers to join them in celebrating the appointment of new Queen’s Counsel prompted me to wonder how this strange relic of class privilege has survived and what has really changed since the 1950s.

Geoffrey Bindman calls for unification of the legal profession

Receiving the usual crop of invitations from barristers’ chambers to join them in celebrating the appointment of new Queen’s Counsel prompted me to wonder how this strange relic of class privilege has survived and what has really changed since the 1950s.

I applaud almost any excuse for a celebration and I do not begrudge the lucky winners their joy in the enhancement of their professional status and income, but it has long been obvious that the status of QC is of value only to them. Indeed, the QC continues to exemplify the costly and anachronistic rituals of the Bar which the efforts of reformers seem unable to eliminate.

Lawyers cling to arbitrary and restrictive practices which obstruct access to legal advice and representation

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll