Employed barristers can now do pro bono work, the Bar Council has confirmed. The professional indemnity insurance provider Bar Mutual has approved cover for the employed Bar, enabling in-house practitioners to work pro bono via the Bar Pro Bono Unit or the Free Representation Unit. Andrew Langdon QC, who called for the extension of cover earlier this year, said: ‘By making this small change, Bar Mutual have not only freed up many barristers… it has also given those people, often in dire straits, who cannot afford a lawyer a potentially wider pool of barristers who may be able to help them.’
17 November 2017
Employed go pro bono
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams
Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant
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HFW—Simon Petch
Global shipping practice expands with experienced ship finance partner hire
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Freeths—Richard Lockhart
Infrastructure specialist joins as partner in Glasgow office
NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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