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Description
Public disquiet about the operation of, the law today led, in 1976, tothe creation of the Royal Commission on Legal Services. Yet even insidethe profession surprisingly little is known about its senior branch,the Bar. In this book, for the first time, a group of eight barristershave broken a tradition of silence to speak out against theshortcomings and injustices of their profession.
In this well-documented account, there is ample justification for theauthors' charges that barristers' training is inadequate, theirrelations with solicitors excessively hierarchical, that the Inns ofCourt mismanage their property, that barristers' clerks have too muchpower, that the organization of many barristers' chambers is woefullyinefficient, and that the profession as a whole is urgently in need ofreform.
The Bar on Trial is essential reading for barristers, and for allsolicitors and law students who want to learn at first hand how the Barreally works; and its disturbing findings will be of interest to anyoneconcerned about the quality of justice administered in England.
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Contents
1. Introduction To The Bar - Robert Hazell
• Barristers and solicitors: the divided profession
• The steps in a barrister's career
(1) Admission to an Inn of Court
(2) Pupillage and a seat in chambers
(3) Silk
(4) The Bench
• The organization of a set of chambers
• A cloistered profession
• The government of the Bar
• Recruitment and accommodation
2. The inns of Court - Nicholas Warren
• The importance of the Inns
• The history of the Inns
• Serjeants' Inn
• The legal relationship between the Inns and their members
• The Inns and their students
(1) Admission fees
(2) Dining
• The Inns' finances
• The Inns as landlords
• Democracy in the Inns
• The future of the Inns
3. Legal education - Alex Lay ton. Richard Tyson and William Rees
• The Bar's attitude to legal education
• The Ormrod Report
• The Bar exams examined
• The Council of Legal Education
• Practical Exercises
• The social and educational background of Bar students
• Overseas students
• Finance
• The role of the universities
• The content of university law courses
• Conclusions
4. Pupillage - Robert Hazell
• Finding pupillage
• The quality of the training
• Training outside the Bar
• The cost of being a pupil
• Finding a tenancy
5. Clerks and Fees - Robert Hazell
• What do barristers earn?
• The role of the clerk
• Useful functions of the clerk
• Other functions performed by the clerk
• The determination of fees
• Clerk's fees
• Chambers efficiency
• Late payment of fees
• Returns
• Are clerks necessary?
• Partnerships
6. The criminal bar - Jonathan Caplan
• The cost of criminal legal aid
• The cab-rank rule
• Prosecuting counsel
• The polarization of the criminal Bar
• The conduct of the defence
• Plea bargaining
• The attitude of detachment
• Standing up to the judge
• Miscarriages of justice
• Conclusions
7. Women at the bar - Helena Kennedy
• The struggle for admission
• The position of women at the Bar today
• Barriers to entry
• The kind of work women do
• The effect of prejudice on the morale of women barristers
• The effect of prejudice on the law
• The Bar Council's Special Committee
• Dress Conclusions
8. Independence and fusion - Robert Hazell
• The Bar's growing dependence on public funds
• The independence of the Bar
• The spectre of fusion
• Fusion dissected
(1) Audience rights
(2) Direct briefing
(3) Partnership between barristers and solicitors
(4) General practitioners and specialists Fusion defused
9. A look into the future - James Munby
• The effect of law reform
• Changes in the legal system
• The effect of the economy
• The shift from civil to criminal work
• The decentralization of the English legal system
• The shape of things to come
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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