OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 4 - OpenLearn

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Assault and battery is the first crown court case for newly qualified barrister Kakoly Pande and there’s a judgement in the House of Lords after a seven-year fight – but can the Bar face up to its critics that it’s an elitist, out-dated and old fashioned club?

What do you think?

This week, we'd like to hear your thoughts on this question:

If you could change one thing about the Bar for the future what would it be?

Share your thoughts through the discussion thread below.

First broadcast: Friday 21 Nov 2008 on BBC TWO England & Northern Ireland

The Barristers in more depth:

OU on the BBC: The Barristers - About the series Copyrighted imageCredit: Production team

We follow a group of students embarking on a career in a profession adapting to a new world. Find out more about the series. Read more : OU on the BBC: The Barristers - About the series

OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 1 Copyrighted imageCredit: Production team

Just one in five students succeed in becoming a barrister and having their day in court – explore the glamorous and competitive world of The... Read more : OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 1

OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 2 Copyrighted imageCredit: Production team

This week, the focus is on family law - and at the foot of this page, we'd like to know what you think about some... Read more : OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 2

OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 3 Copyrighted imageCredit: Production team

Amongst the stories featured this week, there's a look at barristers who are paid by the state - and at the foot of this page,... Read more : OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 3

Five questions, five perspectives Copyrighted imageCredit: The Open University

Professor Gary Slapper introduces our videos exploring barristers and their roles Read more : Five questions, five perspectives

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The Barristers: Changes ahead?

Archive Comments

05 Dec 200815:32

As we reach the end of the Barristers series, we'd like you to consider the future of the bar:

If you could change one thing about the Bar for the future what would it be?

Re: The Barristers: Changes ahead?

Archive Comments

06 Dec 200810:14

I think that the most important change which could be made to the Bar concerns the manner in which barristers are trained, and the system of pupillage. There are two principles which need to be adopted. Firstly, the costs of education, from the first year of university study right through until the end of pupillage, should be covered by a loan system on the model of the current scheme as it applies to undergraduates. The loan should be at 0% interest, only repayable once the barrister starts to earn more than £15,000 p.a., as is the case for other students. This would involve a longer period of study than is the case with normal students, and a much larger loan, but it seems, to me, to be the most equitable solution. Secondly, it would be desirable for the Bar to find a way of training its future members which is analogous to the medical profession. Once a Doctor is qualified, s/he can work as a junior doctor, a houseman, then a registrar, before becoming a consultant. Once a barrister is qualified, has passed the BVC, and done a year, or perhaps two, as a pupil then s/he must be able to work, on the basis of decent remuneration, in some capacity which will serve the Law. This is where the State could come into play, allowing fully qualified junior barristers to work for the CPS, and the State Defence Service, or in government departments, for a guaranteed period of time, say seven years, while they applied for a place in Chambers. In the medical profession, those who do not become consultants by the time they are 35-40 are not going to make the grade. A similar position applies in the armed forces; if you are not a major by the time you are 35 then you should start thinking about doing something else for the rest of your career. If a fully qualified barrister cannot get a place in Chambers after seven years of work on the lines which I have suggested, then they should think about another line of work.

However, while this change would address some of the problems currently associated with training to be a barrister, it remains vital to defend the independence of the Bar from excessive state intervention. This is a difficult balance to get right but, following Aristotle, surely we are capable of striving to achieve the ‘golden mean’, in the Law of all places! Aristotle was a great philosopher of justice, one of our first ‘professors’ of jurisprudence, we should take him as our exemplum, our primus inter pares.

Re: The Barristers: Changes ahead?

Archive Comments

07 Dec 200821:54

Both of these points seem very sensible to me. It would do much to open up access to the Bar and give people a decision point (which I suspect operates in practice, but will have much to do with individual optimism and pessimism).
Kim

Re: The Barristers: Changes ahead?

Archive Comments

05 Dec 200823:16

I would broaden the access to training by creating a pool of new incumbents from which Chambers can draw randomly or for the sake of the pupils in rotation.

This would provide a broader training and whilst waiting in the pool I would introduce a system of legal assitance from the pool for the general public to access. Fee to support the pupils can be drawn from all chambers and some minor fee from the legal assistance.

Perhaps some form of paralegal work could also be introduced.

This aspect I believe would eliminate the uncertainty faced once being called.

Publication details

Originally published: Friday, 5th September 2008
Last updated on: Wednesday, 22nd October 2008

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Image 'Kakoly Pande' - Copyrighted: Production team

OU on the BBC: The Barristers - Programme 4

What do you think?

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