Legal Affairs, Practice & Ethics (LAPE)

In our second Spotlight, each member of the Bar
Council's Legal Affairs, Practice & Ethics (LAPE) team shares
their top three picks of work from the last year, and looks ahead
to the next.
Ellie Cumbo, Head of Policy: Legal Affairs, Practice &
Ethics, shares hers:
-
Ethical Enquiries Service: In 2017, we
received over 6,000 calls and 500 emails from members of the Bar
seeking confidential help with ethical dilemmas. As well as common
queries, such as what to do
when two cases clash, we also receive calls about emerging
issues such as when a barrister undertaking a
secondment is considered to be acting in an employed
capacity. With oversight from our Ethics Committee, we launched the
new Ethics and
Practice Hub at last autumn's Annual Bar Conference. We
also published new guidance, including on what do when
a defendant in a criminal case absconds.
-
Court reform: The Bar Council takes
its representative role seriously, and last year worked hard to
scrutinise and respond to HMCTS' court reform programme. This
includes proposals which may have serious consequences for justice
and the Bar itself, from online processes and virtual hearings, to
Flexible Operating Hours and a reduced physical court estate, to
greater powers for staff authorised to exercise judicial functions.
We are grateful to the practitioners who gave up their time to
ensure that barristers' views, and their clients' rights and needs,
are represented in this work. Find our various public responses to
these on our
external consultations page.
-
Advocacy and the Vulnerable: Following
the
2014 government paperpromising to improve victims' experiences
of going to court, a working group of experts developed a new
approach to the questioning of vulnerable witnesses. The Circuits
and Inns of Court have now trained over 1,000 barristers this way.
The Bar Council is coordinating this roll-out, and keeping the MOJ
informed, aiming to complete all training by the end of 2018.
Again, we are hugely indebted to all those practitioners who
volunteer as Facilitators; particular congratulations are due to
the Western Circuit, which completed its training a year early.
Criminal practitioners who have not yet been trained: contact your
Circuits or see the Inn training pages:
Middle Temple,
Inner Temple,
Gray's Innand
Lincoln's Inn.
Melanie Mylvaganam, Policy Analyst: Legal Affairs, Practice
& Ethics, lists her 'big three' as:
-
Anti-money laundering guidance: The
Bar Council's guidance is now updated with practical case
studies to assist barristers in navigating their AML/CTF
obligations. We have also contributed to the guidance for the whole
legal sector, due to be approved by HM Treasury next week - after
which we will publish our own guidance, updated for compliance with
the 2017 Money
Laundering Regulations.
-
General Data Protection
Regulation: The
GDPR Guide for Barristers and Chambers is now published,
and our existing IT
documents are being updated to comply with the GDPR (which
comes into force on 25 May 2018). We have been working with Riliance to
deliver further templates, policies and procedures in the GDPR
Toolkit, accessible to the profession for free. As part of this
work, we have also been communicating with Parliament and
Government about the development of the Data Protection
Bill.
-
The Brexit Papers: A coordinated effort
from the Brexit Working Group, SBAs and other senior members of the
profession, these papers harness
the expertise of members of the Bar to summarise the legal
implications of Brexit on particular topics, and make
recommendations to Government. In 2018 the Working Group will
expand on these through webinars on key topics of interest. See
more on our Brexit work here.
Onyeka Onyekwelu, Policy Analyst: Legal Affairs, Practice and
Ethics, gives hers:
-
Bar of the Future: Working closely with
members of the Young Barristers' Committee (YBC) to showcase the
Young Bar as an untapped resource, and attempt to cast a light on
the future of the profession. In this challenging legal landscape
of increased digitisation and the uncertainty of the proposed
reform programme, it is my role to work with key stakeholders to
develop opportunities, and highlight the need for young barristers
in the delivery of justice.
-
International opportunities for Young
Barristers: In 2017, the Bar Council's International
Committee handed responsibility for facilitating the
International Grant Programme to the YBC. Out of 28
applications, 17 young Barristers were granted opportunities to
take part in the 7th World Congress on Family Law and Children's
Rights (Dublin), shadow in an international licensing firm (New
York), and conduct an Amity visit with a session on human rights
and comparative law in courts (Washington DC). Applications are now
open for the first round of the 2018 Programme. In addition, this
year, the YBC will host our Dutch counterparts on the
Anglo Dutch Exchange, and lawyers from all over the world
for International Weekend.
-
ADR Research: I am responsible for
ensuring the ADR Panel develops opportunities that satisfy Aim 2 of
the Bar Council's Strategic
aims. This year, I will research clients' experiences of ADR,
to help enhance practitioners' understanding of their clients'
needs, and assist the Bar Council's efforts to promote alternative
practices at the Bar. This research will focus on the consumer
experience of non-litigious processes in England and Wales,
exploring their expectations from ADR and the impact their
experience has on their attitudes to justice and the legal
system.
Much of this important work by
the Bar Council's Policy Team would not be possible without funding
from the
Bar Representation Fee (BRF), a £8.34 per month subscription
fee.