Barristers – Solicitors are c**p in court!
A bit of argy bargy between the two prongs of the legal profession has erupted, as barristers slate solicitors who practice advocacy in criminal trials. The crux of the attack from the Criminal Bar Association seems to be based upon the notion that higher court advocates i.e. solicitors who are qualified to act as defence advocates in serious trials are going ahead and making monkeys of themselves in court to save their clients costs. It argues that such serious matters should …
A bit of argy bargy between the two prongs of the legal profession has erupted, as barristers slate solicitors who practice advocacy in criminal trials.
The crux of the attack from the Criminal Bar Association seems to be based upon the notion that higher court advocates i.e. solicitors who are qualified to act as defence advocates in serious trials are going ahead and making monkeys of themselves in court to save their clients costs.
It argues that such serious matters should be left to experienced barristers.
According to The Times Peter Lodder, QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “There is a huge increase in the use of higher-court advocates .
“The Bar does not say that such an advocate is bad by definition. Some are good, but there are many who are truly appalling – defence solicitors who have never before conducted a crown court trial and have very limited experience in the magistrates’ trials now appear as junior advocates to defend in murder trials.”
Surely not. One cannot ever imagine a situation where a ‘truly appalling’ barrister has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting court. So much for pointed, reasoned arguments, avoiding generalisations etc, etc.
For more legal mud-slinging continue over…
The Crown Prosecution Service advocates were equally poor, he said. Some had left the Bar because they had never risen above a modest practice.“Now they have become the leading advocate in murder prosecutions, cases in which they would never have been instructed by the CPS while they remained in private practice.”
He added: “All this is done in the interests of economy, without any regard for the interests of justice. Watching the destruction of the system by the use of apparently cheap and inadequate labour is deeply upsetting and demoralising to the professional Bar.”
"Cheap and inadequate" now that really is below the belt!
In a robust response Desmond Hudson, the chief executive of the Law Society, rejected the notion that solicitor-advocates were not up to scratch. He said: “If Mr Lodder wants to debate this issue seriously, he should provide specific examples so we can address them. We have not been shown any examples of misconduct and therefore these accusations are entirely unsubstantiated.”
Sounds like my briefs are bigger than you briefs!
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November 6, 2008
typical pomposity from the bar
November 6, 2008
having accompanied the odd barrister to court as a litigation trainee (civil matters as it happened) i’ve seen some fairly poor advocacy from junior barristers. you gotta start somewhere.
November 6, 2008
the high court’s probably not the place though 2
November 6, 2008
What a load of nonesense, surely it comes down to the skill and preparedness of the individual. The old duffer even admits that there are good advocates…
November 6, 2008
Moot point, hoho, most people probably consider lawyers, whether barristers or solicitors, to be overly expensive and certainly not good value in or out of court!
November 7, 2008
It is actually an individual skill that makes excellent barristers stand out from mediocre contemporaries or particular solicitor advocates. However, though such advocates do receive some training (one wonders how much sometimes) it cannot be as thorough as that provided by the rigours of becoming a barrister. Advocacy is not just about learning court processes which is something that ought to be borne in mind when making the decision to represent clients at a higher level.