Judges could be allowed to return to legal practice after serving on the bench, following a quarantine period, if government proposals aimed at increasing judicial diversity get the go ahead.


The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, launched a consultation this week to seek views on the length of any restriction on the provision of advocacy services and whether there should be a minimum period of judicial service before a judge can return to practice.



The policy change followed the findings of a consultation carried out in 2004-05 on diversity in the judiciary, which suggested the current position inhibited diversity. It was claimed that the rule acted as a deterrent to applicants from groups under-represented in the judiciary, who may be concerned that they might be unable to progress through the judicial ranks and have no route back into legal practice.



At present, former holders of judicial office are prohibited from returning to practice, other than to act as arbitrators or mediators. In a rare move last year, Sir Hugh Laddie resigned from the High Court bench to join intellectual property firm Willoughby & Partners as a consultant and head of arbitration and mediation.



Launching the consultation, Lord Falconer restated his commitment to increasing judicial diversity. 'Prohibition on return to practice can act as a real barrier to people considering judicial appointment at an early stage of their career,' he said. 'I want to access the talents of younger lawyers with excellent skills: removing this barrier will offer significant encouragement to them.'



Mike Williams, Law Society Council member for civil litigation, said the change in policy would not affect many people and pointed out that at present quite a lot of practitioners sit as part-time district judges while continuing in practice.



He added: 'The more litigators understand all sides of the adjudication process the better, and there is no better way of understanding it than having been a judge.'



Catherine Baksi