10 things the Bar Council did in October 2017

The Bar Council responded to the Lord Chancellor's announcement of a post-legislative review of LASPO 2012. Chair of the Bar Andrew Landon QC said: "This long-awaited review offers the Government an important opportunity to take stock of the damage caused by the unprecedented cuts to legal aid that LASPO introduced and to re-asses the value of justice to citizens. This review comes not a moment too soon." 

The results of the election for the 2018 Bar Council were announced. 

The official Bar Council Pupillage Fair took place at the University of Law in London. A record 680 students and 54 exhibitors attended the fair, which is the largest pupillage fair and the only one run by the Bar for free. Over 100 speakers volunteered at the Fair. 

The Bar Council hosted a Legal Consequences of Brexit event organised jointly with the Deutscher Anwaltverein (German Bar Association). The event saw topics such as the Art. 50 Litigation and the consequences for constitutional law and passporting and mutual recognition in financial services post-Brexit discussed. 

The Young Barristers' Committee secured exclusive discounts at Hammicks for members of the young Bar on essential texts, such as Blackstone Criminal and Archbold. 

To mark World Mental Health Day on October 10, the Bar Council handed control of its Twitter feed over to the Wellbeing at the Bar initiative. The many resources available to barristers and chambers on the Wellbeing at the Bar website were highlighted on Twitter for the day. 

Andrew Langdon QC, Chair of the Bar, represented the Bar Council at the International Bar Association Annual Conference in Sydney. In a speech to delegates, the Chair of the Bar said the economic case for legal aid had been made. The Chair also met with other Bar associations from around the world to discuss key issues affection the profession. 

Chair-Elect of the Bar, Andrew Walker QC, told delegates at the Legal Aid Practitioners Group conference that justice needed to move up the financial agenda in Government and that the Ministry of Justice didn't have enough clout to make that happen. 

Duncan McCombe, Chair of the Young Barristers' Committee, and Sam Roake, a barrister at Charter Chambers, wrote an article for Counsel magazine which pointed out that many barristers at the junior end of the profession were doing Magistrates' Court work for free and weren't being paid by instructing solicitors. The article focused on findings in a survey of the young Bar which showed that 50 per cent of criminal juniors were going unpaid for this work. 

Following its attendance at the Labour Party Conference in September, the Bar Council turned out at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to meet represent the Bar and highlight key issues affecting the profession and the justice system.