*/
Ethics Committee
This workshop consisted of excellent discussions between panel and delegates of issues which barristers of all ages might well encounter. The panel made clear the committee’s remit. It offers ethical but not legal advice; the task of the confidential advice hotline is to take the enquiring barrister through the core values in the Handbook. However, it is instructed counsel who has to make the judgment call and to bear the responsibility. It is they who hold the brief and know the lay client.
There was advice on how to protect counsel’s position: get the brief endorsed, show you have thought about the issue, and send confirming emails if you have consulted the Bar Council hotline and/or spoken to a senior member of chambers. ‘At base we are not the mere mouthpieces of our clients,’ Fenner pointed out. So it is best to explain counsel’s role to the lay client at the very start.
Delegates were supplied with a list of ethical issues. Resolving them can be balancing exercises and unsurprisingly not everyone agreed on the ‘answer’. One problem dealt with the situation where the Crown has told the court that the defendant has no relevant convictions although defence counsel knows that the defendant is in fact subject to a suspended sentence. It was suggested that one should say to the defendant, ‘the best I can do is to stand up and say I offer no mitigation, but if I’m asked by the judge, I’ve got to tell the truth’.
Other issues concerned disclosure of one’s previous involvement with the litigants on the other side (for example having once represented a company which your client is now suing) and how to deal with the more robust allegations which a client may want you to put to the other side’s witness.
The prime duty remains a barrister’s duty to the court in the administration of justice. As Fenner put it, ‘either you stand up and perform as a barrister or you don’t – not with a nudge or a wink’.
The conference later learned of the launch of the new Ethics and Practice Hub, which will be available on phones and tablets, and which provides guidance on ethical issues, as well as guidance on IT, equality and diversity and other practice issues: barcouncilethics.co.uk.
This workshop consisted of excellent discussions between panel and delegates of issues which barristers of all ages might well encounter. The panel made clear the committee’s remit. It offers ethical but not legal advice; the task of the confidential advice hotline is to take the enquiring barrister through the core values in the Handbook. However, it is instructed counsel who has to make the judgment call and to bear the responsibility. It is they who hold the brief and know the lay client.
There was advice on how to protect counsel’s position: get the brief endorsed, show you have thought about the issue, and send confirming emails if you have consulted the Bar Council hotline and/or spoken to a senior member of chambers. ‘At base we are not the mere mouthpieces of our clients,’ Fenner pointed out. So it is best to explain counsel’s role to the lay client at the very start.
Delegates were supplied with a list of ethical issues. Resolving them can be balancing exercises and unsurprisingly not everyone agreed on the ‘answer’. One problem dealt with the situation where the Crown has told the court that the defendant has no relevant convictions although defence counsel knows that the defendant is in fact subject to a suspended sentence. It was suggested that one should say to the defendant, ‘the best I can do is to stand up and say I offer no mitigation, but if I’m asked by the judge, I’ve got to tell the truth’.
Other issues concerned disclosure of one’s previous involvement with the litigants on the other side (for example having once represented a company which your client is now suing) and how to deal with the more robust allegations which a client may want you to put to the other side’s witness.
The prime duty remains a barrister’s duty to the court in the administration of justice. As Fenner put it, ‘either you stand up and perform as a barrister or you don’t – not with a nudge or a wink’.
The conference later learned of the launch of the new Ethics and Practice Hub, which will be available on phones and tablets, and which provides guidance on ethical issues, as well as guidance on IT, equality and diversity and other practice issues: barcouncilethics.co.uk.
Ethics Committee
The Bar Council faces both opportunities and challenges on our key areas this year
Girls Human Rights Festival 2025: a global gathering for change
Exclusive Q&A with Henry Dannell
Casey Randall of AlphaBiolabs discusses the benefits of Non-invasive Prenatal Paternity testing for the timely resolution of family disputes
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Have you considered being a barrister in the British Army? Here’s an insight into a career in Army Legal Services
Patrick Green KC talks about the landmark Post Office Group litigation and his driving principles for life and practice. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
Sir Nicholas Mostyn, former High Court judge, on starting a hit podcast with fellow ‘Parkies’ after the shock of his diagnosis
‘Hard work and commitment can open doors. I believe that I am proof of that,’ says Senior Treasury Counsel Louise Oakley. She tells Anthony Inglese CB about her journey from Wolverhampton to the Old Bailey
What's it like being a legal trainee at the Crown Prosecution Service? Amy describes what drew her to the role, the skills required and a typical day in the life
Barbara Mills KC wants to raise the profile of the family Bar. She also wants to improve wellbeing and enhance equality, diversity and inclusion in the profession. She talks to Joshua Rozenberg KC (hon) about her plans for the year ahead
