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Courting publicity? The Supreme Court’s open door policy

"Three things in particular tend to surprise new visitors to the three-year-old Supreme Court. The first is that there are no secret tunnels to Parliament, which comes as a great disappointment to many school groups. The second is that the Justices s...

24 May 2012 | 13:20

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inner image Bar Council elects 2 Bedford Row silk to succeed Todd as chairman

Maura McGowan QC has been elected as the Bar Council's next chairman, with the criminal silk set to succeed current chair Michael Todd QC of Erskine Chambers at the end of the year. McGowan, who is currently vice chairman, was elected in an unconte...

11 May 2012 | 15:59 | secure

inner image Ex-Supreme Court judge and Herbert Smith partner joins Essex Court

Former Herbert Smith partner and UK Supreme Court judge Lord Collins of Mapesbury has joined Essex Court Chambers after retiring from the UK's top court last year. Lord Collins started at Essex Court this week as a full-time arbitrator. He retired ...

03 May 2012 | 10:51 | secure

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Euro human rights court reforms agreed in effort to cut back cases

New measures to reduce the number of cases heard in the European Court of Human Rights have been agreed, in a bid to free the court up to focus on the most serious violations of human rights. The reforms have been agreed by the 47 member states of ...

20 Apr 2012 | 13:53 | secure

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This other life - the strains of managing a work/life balance at the Bar

"There have always been very ambitious barristers who are overly preoccupied with success, some because of the desire to build reputation, some, more venally, for money, who work so hard that they’re in real danger of burnout..."

20 Apr 2012 | 00:00 | secure

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Riverview adds former High Court judge to barrister line-up

Riverview Law has added former High Court judge Sir Oliver Popplewell to its chambers arm as an associate member of its mediation and arbitration team. Popplewell, a door tenant at Brick Court Chambers, is joining the line-up of barristers associat...

10 Apr 2012 | 12:22 | secure

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Pegasus – slaying the Bar's beast of a diversity problem

"Mini-pupillages are essential for getting a pupillage in the end and most sets would not look at a candidate without them," says Brick Court Chambers co-head Jonathan Hirst QC. Following last year's creation of PRIME by a group of leading law firm...

05 Apr 2012 | 09:52 | secure

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Newly-launched Riverview Chambers signs up director of ops with 3VB hire

Riverview Chambers has hired a director of operations, with 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB) practice manager Jeremy Hopkins set to take on the role. The chambers is one arm of the DLA Piper-backed venture Riverview Law, the new-look legal services busine...

03 Apr 2012 | 12:27 | secure

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Lords call for judicial appraisals and positive action to increase diversity

The introduction of a formal appraisal system for senior judges has been put forward as one of several recommendations in a House of Lords report on judicial appointments published earlier this week (28 March). The suggestion for a judge-led apprai...

30 Mar 2012 | 00:00 | secure

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Raft of advisers act as Supreme Court settles insurer liability on asbestos exposure claims

A landmark Supreme Court ruling handed down yesterday (28 March) means insurers could face hundreds of millions in claims from sufferers of mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos dust. By a majority of four to one, the Supreme Court ...

29 Mar 2012 | 15:16 | secure

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The Only Way is Essex Court as Big Brother star launches TOWIE lawsuit

Essex Court Chambers and Atkins Thomson Solicitors are representing former Big Brother winner Brian Belo on a legal action brought against ITV for copyright infringement over the hit TV show The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE). Belo has filed a lawsuit a...

28 Mar 2012 | 17:02 | secure | 1 comment

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Lords report proposes positive action to boost judiciary diversity

Female and minority applicants to the judiciary could be appointed ahead of white men with equal skills according to a House of Lords report published today (28 March) aimed at increasing diversity in the judiciary. The report by the House of Lords...

28 Mar 2012 | 00:10 | secure | 2 comments

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Judicial appointments system suffers 'democratic deficit', says think tank

The senior judicial appointments process in the UK is in need of "significant reform" according to research published yesterday (26 March). According to research by think-tank CentreForum - which comes ahead of the House of Lords report on the subject...

27 Mar 2012 | 10:01 | secure

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Regulators approve new scheme to measure quality at criminal Bar

A trio of legal regulators have approved a new scheme for criminal barristers that will see them placed in one of four quality brackets in a bid to improve advocacy standards at the Bar. The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) was approve...

26 Mar 2012 | 08:03 | secure | 1 comment

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London's leading silks eye up Singapore moves as region's arbitration clout grows

“A vast proportion of our work is in the field of arbitration. There’s been a huge explosion of work in the region” - Commercial barristers are seeing a growing opportunity for senior advocates in Singapore

16 Mar 2012 | 00:00 | secure

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