The outgoing chairman of the Bar, Alistair McDonald QC, has commended the Ministry of Justice, under the leadership of Michael Gove, for being prepared to listen to the Bar and act on its concerns. McDonald believes proposals in the recent consultation on criminal advocacy could, if implemented correctly, serve to strengthen criminal advocacy in England & Wales. Further evidence that the government was listening to the Bar’s concerns emerged when it announced that it would not proceed with the cuts to the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme .
27 November 2015
Positive overtones at the Bar
MOVERS & SHAKERS
WSP Solicitors—David Ashcroft & Jessica O’Shea
Commercial property and child law teams expand with senior hires
Duxton Hill Chambers—Lucas Bastin KC & Joshua Hiew
Set expands London and Singapore offering with senior international disputes hires
Gilson Gray—Gregor Duthie & Stephen Forsyth
Firm strengthens real estate and litigation teams with partner promotions
NEWS
Behind the profession’s polished exterior, lawyers are ‘internally drained rather than physically tired’, according to a stark assessment of burnout in legal practice
Five years after the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force, concerns remain that the family courts continue to minimise allegations of abuse in child contact disputes
Uber has built a formidable strategy for insulating itself from liability for drivers’ conduct, but the legal terrain differs sharply between the US and England and Wales
The Civil Justice Council’s review of Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 could mark the end of what one commentator calls an ‘outdated’ and overly technical regime governing solicitor-client fee disputes
The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 marks a constitutional watershed by severing the centuries-old link between hereditary titles and automatic membership of the upper chamber
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