Practice: Access to the Bar

My professional body is running a full day event at the Inner Temple in the Smoke known as Access to the Bar Day (”“A2B") on 27 Nov 2008 to provide up-to-date information about instructing the Bar directly. This event is open to everyone. If you are an inventor, designer, angel, musician, business owner or any other kind of creative, enterprising or innovative individual who is fed up with paying good money for mediocre legal services this event is for you. 

Speakers include:

• Biddie Prentice MP (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice)
• Paul Darling QC a construction silk with a good sense of humour who trained with me to become a mediator many years ago
• Tim Dutton QC head honcho of the Bar for a few more weeks
• Prof Flood of Westminster Uni who is doing some research on public access 
• Marc Beaumont who runs the Public Access Bar Association

and a whole load of other folk including me.   Don't be put off by the twee abbreviation.   The Bar Council is just trying to be trendy. Some serious stuff will be raised by me (if by nobody else) on such matters as tailoring barristers' considerable collective expertise to what the public needs and getting over sufficient information to businesses and households on barristers' qualifications and experience to make an optimum choice.

If you want to come email Rukaiya Bhegani on RBhegani@Barcouncil.org.uk or call her on 020 7242 0082. Alternatively, if you call my chambers we can pass on your names and contact details to Rukaoya. As you can see from the photo above, the Temple is lovely and has lots of history, not least the fact that the Dukes of Lancaster and York picked red and white roses in its gardens starting the War of the Roses.  The day coincides with US Thanksgiving Day the first time out of the last 8 years that most of us on this side of the Atlantic have actually got something for which we can thank America. The Christmas lights will be on in Regent Street and Knightsbridge.   Maybe there will be enough of us form the North to hire a coach.