Criminal barristers and solicitor advocates are generally delivering a competent service but there are examples of poor advocacy, according to two reports by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Bar Standards Board.
The first report involved interviews with 50 High Court and circuit judges. The second report, by the SRA only, involved interviews with 40 solicitors’ firms.
The judges felt standards were declining in some areas, especially core courtroom skills such as the use of focused questioning. Advocates sometimes took on cases beyond their level of experience but were getting better at dealing with young and vulnerable witnesses. Finally, judges were uncertain about when and how they should report poor advocacy to regulators.
The SRA’s report found that smaller firms and increasingly ageing individuals dominate the solicitors’ criminal advocacy market, and the number of new entrants is falling.
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