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10 January 2008 / Timothy Dutton KC
Issue: 7303 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Profession
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Competing at home and abroad

Bar chairman Timothy Dutton QC discusses his plans for his year in office

It is a tremendous privilege to be elected as chairman of the Bar Council. 2007 was a busy and interesting year for the Bar, with outgoing chairman Geoffrey Vos QC and his team contending with the passage of the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007), legal aid reforms, and mooted constitutional changes, as well as promoting equality, diversity and access through the Entry to the Bar Working Party, chaired by Lord Neuberger.

 

The Bar has continued to grow and specialise, offering a first class quality of service, both domestically and overseas. One of my key roles this year will be to oversee the implementation of internal Bar reforms and programmes, and also to ensure that the Bar continues to compete in the new legislative climate.

 

I want every member of the Bar to know the important fact; that the Bar Council works in their interests across all ranges of discipline. A

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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