Employed barristers move a step closer to litigation practice

Employed barristers move a step closer to litigation practice

Employed barristers may soon have the right to conduct litigation as easily as employed solicitors, after proposals put forward by the Bar Council were approved this week by the Legal Services Consultative Panel.The Bar Council suggested that barristers who have completed pupillage and a further 12-week training course should be allowed to conduct litigation.The first year, or three years if the barrister is to supply services to the public rather than solely to their employer, is to be spent under the guidance of an experienced litigator.The Bar Council asked the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, for approval to change its rules after an investigation led by former Law Society president Mark Sheldon.

The panel advises the Lord Chancellor on such applications.Alvin Shuttleworth, chairman of the Law Society's Commerce and Industry Group, welcomed the decision: 'There should be no distinction between employed barristers and solicitors, and those in private practice, and I cannot see the need for one to be drawn.'Victoria MacCallum