Barrister numbers plummeted during Covid-19 as earnings dropped 23 per cent April 11, 2022 The Bar Council has said urgent investment is needed to “keep the criminal justice system afloat” after publishing new data showing barristers suffered heavily during Covid-19. The total number of barristers working in full-time publicly funded positions dropped by more than 10 per cent from 2,670 in 2019-20 to 2,400 in 2020-21, the Bar Council [...]
UK Election: Criminal justice system at the point of no return. Where is the outrage? June 24, 2024 The British criminal justice system is nearing collapse, plagued by backlogs, overcrowded prisons, budget cuts, and barrister strikes
Irritated Dominic Raab warns today’s barrister strike ‘only delays justice for victims’ as lawyer walkout begins June 27, 2022 Barristers are staging court walkouts for several days from today in a dispute over legal aid funding. They will also refuse to accept new cases and to carry out “return work” – stepping in and picking up court hearings and other work for colleagues whose cases are overrunning. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said the barrister [...]
Criminal barristers threaten nationwide strike if government fails to up their pay January 18, 2022 Criminal barristers have said they will go on strike if the government does not substantially increase their pay. In a survey put out by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), 96.5 per cent of criminal barristers said they favour taking strike action if the Government does not agree “to a substantial increase in criminal legal [...]
Criminal barristers consider strike over government’s legal aid deal January 17, 2022 Criminal barristers are considering taking strike action, after claiming government plans to inject £35m per year into the criminal justice system would not be enough to “ensure the long-term viability of the Criminal Bar.” Last week, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) asked its 2,600 members to vote on the prospect of launching a strike, [...]
Raab says barristers’ strike would be ‘totally unwarranted’ following legal aid reforms March 16, 2022 Justice secretary Dominic Raab has said it would be “totally unwarranted” for barristers to go forwards with strike action, after the Ministry of Justice said it would invest an extra £135m a year into criminal legal aid. The comments come after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said 94.34 per cent of criminal barristers had voted [...]
White male barristers earn twice as much as female, ethnic minority colleagues February 7, 2022 White male barristers earn more than twice as much as female barristers from ethnic minority backgrounds, figures from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) show. White men working as barristers earned £238,241 in 2020, while women from ethnic minority backgrounds earned just £98,324 over the same period of time. On average, female barristers earned just more [...]
Criminal barristers to hold strike ballot after being told to ‘be patient’ by Dominic Raab February 16, 2022 Criminal barristers will vote on whether to strike at the end of this month, after Dominic Raab told barristers to “be patient” while waiting for legal aid reform. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) will hold a strike ballot on 28 February, after the government failed to put forward its plans to reform criminal legal [...]
Nadine Dorries selects barrister Orlando Fraser as preferred candidate for Charity Commission top job March 8, 2022 The government has named barrister Orlando Fraser as its preferred candidate for Charity Commission Chair Culture secretary Nadine Dorries made the announcement regarding the top job at the regulator on Tuesday. Fraser will now appear before MPs on the digital, culture, media and sport select committee for pre-appointment scrutiny at an unconfirmed later date. He [...]
City barristers to hit the screen in new Channel 4 legal documentary November 26, 2021 Barristers from 25 Bedford Row will star in a new show with “unprecedented access” to legal lives. In a four-part documentary, tentatively named The Defenders, a group of barristers from one of the UK’s top criminal defence chambers will be followed around on their daily lives. The Defenders will show how the barristers work through [...]