‘Cure worse than the disease’: Starmer’s mentor lambasts plan to scrap juries Legal The proposal to scrap jury trials is “a cure worse than the disease”, according to the founding head of the Chambers where Sir Keir Starmer once practised. David Lammy’s controversial Courts and Tribunals Bill aims to reduce Crown Court backlogs by approximately halving the number of jury trials. The Bill, if passed, will create a [...]
HP pursues Lynch estate for £1.35bn as tech giant forks out £150m in legal bills Legal The High Court heard that the estate of British technology tycoon Mike Lynch should be liable to pay more than £1.35bn to Hewlett-Packard (HP) over fraud linked to the sale of Autonomy. Lynch, who founded software firm Autonomy in 1996, sold it to HP in 2012 for $11.1bn, but after a bust-up over allegations of [...]
Harman review: “Career-limiting or career-ending” sanctions needed for bully judges and predatory barristers Legal A damning report by Harriet Harman KC has found the Bar does “not always” uphold its high standards when it comes to bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment. Harman, chair of the Independent Review, stated in her 128-page report on the Bar that there is a “culture of impunity” for those at the top who engage [...]
HMRC names barrister in tax avoidance list for first time September 4, 2025 In an unprecedented move, HMRC has added a practising barrister, identified as the ‘designer’ of a tax avoidance scheme, to its list of tax avoidance promoters. Tax barrister Setu Kamal, with 20 years of experience, stands accused of designing four tax avoidance schemes and producing the contract templates crucial to their operation. Those schemes were [...]
Leading criminal barrister guilty of sexual misconduct charges December 11, 2024 A Tribunal ruled a top criminal barrister, Jo Sidhu KC, was guilty of three charges of sexual misconduct against a young female barrister
Why is the Bar Standards Board politicising our profession? September 11, 2024 The Bar Standards Board’s plans to introduce a professional duty to advance DEI will turn chambers meetings into maoist struggle sessions, says Andrew Lomas The Bar Standards Board (BSB) – the body that regulates barristers in England and Wales – has recently proposed to replace a barrister’s core duty to not unlawfully discriminate with a [...]
Barrister prohibited after criminal conviction for punching a fashion designer June 20, 2024 Barrister Matthew Feargrieve has been prohibited from practising after being convicted of assaulting a fashion designer at the Royal Opera House
The case for the defence of barristers’ wigs May 22, 2024 Barristers’ wigs are the latest front in the war on the eccentricity and traditions that make this country unique, says James Price “What do ties matter, Jeeves, at a time like this?” asks Bertie Wooster during one of his many misadventures. Jeeves, as omniscient and fundamentally right about everything as ever, replies, quite correctly: “There [...]