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General Council Of The Bar
The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the "approved regulator" of barristers, but delegates its regulatory function to the independent Bar Standards Board. As the lead representative body for barristers in England and Wales, the Bar Council’s work is devoted to ensuring the Bar’s voice is heard, efficiently and effectively, and with the interests of the Bar (and the public interest) as its focus. The Chair in 2025 is Barbara Mills KC. History The General Council of the Bar was created in 1894 to deal with breaches of a barrister's professional standards, something that had previously been handled by the judiciary. Along with the Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barristers In England And Wales
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecution. (The word "lawyer" is a generic term, referring to a person who practises in law, which could also be deemed to include other legal practitioners such as chartered legal executives.) Origin of the profession The work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales is divided between solicitors and barristers. Both are trained in law but serve differing functions in the practice of law. Historically, the superior courts were based in London, the capital city. To dispense justice throughout the country, a judge and court personnel would periodically travel a regional circuit to deal with cases that had arisen there. From this developed a body of lawyers who were on socially familiar terms with the judges, had training and experience ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godfrey Russell Vick
Sir Godfrey Russell-Vick QC (24 December 1892 – 27 September 1958)''Who Was Who 1897-2006'' (2007) was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal Party politician. Background Born at Strathmore House, West Hartlepool, the youngest son of Richard William Vick JP and Emily ''née'' Oughtred, he was educated at the Leys School and Jesus College, Cambridge, and played rugby for Hartlepool Rovers. He married Marjorie Hester Compston and the couple had two daughters and two sons, the younger of whom, Sir Arnold Russell-Vick, also became a barrister then a judge. Professional career In August 1914 Russell-Vick was commissioned into the 11th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, serving during World War I in France and Flanders. He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1917, and practised successfully as a criminal lawyer on the North East circuit.Wade Baron (1966) ''p.''58 He served both as Chairman of the Bar Council and variously as Recorder of Richmond (1930-1931), Hali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Cresswell (judge)
Sir Peter John Cresswell, DL (born 24 April 1944) is an English former High Court judge, and currently a judge of the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre. Cresswell was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead before studying law at Queens' College, Cambridge from 1962 to 1965, gaining an MA and LLB. He was then called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1966. Cresswell was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1983 before being appointed a High Court Judge in 1991 where he was assigned to the Queens' Bench Division. From 1993-94 he was the judge in charge of the commercial court. Between 1993 and 1996 Creswell presided over the Lloyds litigation, the largest piece of civil litigation in the UK. Cresswell retired from the High Court in 2008 and since 2009 has been a judge of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory compris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmond Fennell (judge)
Sir John Desmond Augustine Fennell OBE (17 September 1933 – 29 June 2011) was a British barrister and judge who chaired the public inquiry into the 1987 King's Cross fire. He was a High Court judge from 1990 to 1992, when he was forced to retire as a result of a stroke. Fennell was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours "for political service in Wessex", and knighted in 1990. Early life Fennell was born on 17 September 1933 in Lincoln, England Lincoln () is a cathedral city and non-metropolitan district, district in Lincolnshire, England, of which it is the county town. In the 2021 Census, the city's district had a population of 103,813. The 2021 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, u .... Personal life In 1966, he married Susan Trusted (1939—). They had three children, including a son and two daughters. References 1933 births 2011 deaths Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander Of Weedon
Robert Scott Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon (5 September 1936 – 6 November 2005) was a British barrister, banker and Conservative politician. Education He was educated at Brighton College (of which he was later President) and King's College, Cambridge. Career at law He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1961. An early case of note was his successful defence of Dr Caroline Deys before the General Medical Council in 1972. Alexander was one of the leading barristers of his generation and served as Chairman of the Bar Council 1985–86. As a barrister he came to greater public fame representing Lord Archer in his libel case against the '' Daily Star'' in 1987. He retired from the Bar in 1989, and served as Chairman of National Westminster Bank from 1989 to 1999. He was also a director of other companies, a member of the Government's Panel on Sustainable Development and Chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2000 until ill-health forced him to retire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Neill, Baron Neill Of Bladen
Francis Patrick Neill, Baron Neill of Bladen, (8 August 1926 – 28 May 2016) was a British barrister and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Early life and education A son of Sir Thomas Neill, Patrick Neill was born in Hampstead in 1926. He was educated at Highgate School and Magdalen College, Oxford. From 1944 to 1947, he served in the Rifle Brigade and became a captain. Legal career He became a barrister in 1951 and took silk in 1966. After heading One Hare Court, he became head of chambers of Serle Court in Lincoln's Inn when the two merged in 1999. He worked alongside Henry Fisher, Roger Parker, Gordon Slynn, and Richard Southwell QC. Lord Neill left Serle Court in 2008 to join his elder brother Sir Brian Neill, a former Court of Appeal judge, at 20 Essex Street. University of Oxford He was Warden of All Souls College, Oxford, from 1977 until 1995, and appointed an Honorary Fellow in 1995. He was Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1985 until 1989, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Comyn
Sir James Peter Comyn (8 March 1921 – 5 January 1997) was an Irish-born barrister and English High Court judge. The scion of a prominent Nationalist legal family, Comyn was sent to England after they fell out with Éamon de Valera. Considered by many to be "the finest all-round advocate at the English bar", Comyn was appointed to the High Court of Justice in 1978, serving on the bench until his retirement in 1985. Early life James Comyn was born at Beaufield House, Stillorgan, County Dublin, the son of Nationalist barrister James Comyn KC and of Mary Comyn; through his father he was the nephew of the barrister Michael Comyn KC. Both his father and uncle had been political and legal advisers to Éamon de Valera, who at one point used Beaufield House as a safe house. However, the Comyn brothers fell out with de Valera shortly before he came to power in 1932, and Michael Comyn was passed over as Attorney-General of the Free State. As a result, James Comyn, who was then at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Arnold (judge)
Sir John Lewis Arnold (January 26, 1915 – October 9, 2004) was a British judge. He was President of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice from 1979 to 1988. Biography Arnold was educated Wellington College and University of Würzburg. He was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1937. He became a tenant of Wilfred Hunt's chambers shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, when he joined the Royal Artillery as a gunner. He was later commissioned and served in northwest Europe as an intelligence officer with 11th Armoured Division, then the 52nd Division Headquarters. He was severely wounded in Bremen in 1945. The same year, he was mentioned in despatches. After the war, Arnold practiced at the Chancery bar. He became a Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmond Ackner, Baron Ackner
Desmond James Conrad Ackner, Baron Ackner, (18 September 1920 – 21 March 2006) was a British judge and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life Ackner was the son of a Jewish dentist, Dr Conrad Ackner, from Vienna, who came to Great Britain before the First World War. He was educated at Highgate School, before studying at Clare College, Cambridge, where he read economics and law, and where he was later an honorary fellow. During the Second World War, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery, although a twisted foot kept him out of active service and he was transferred to the Admiralty's naval law branch. Legal and judicial career Ackner was called to the bar by the Middle Temple in 1945, practising mainly commercial law. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1961, a bencher of Middle Temple in 1965 and was later treasurer in 1984. He came to public notice acting for victims of thalidomide in the late 1960s in their action for damages against the manufacturer of the drug, Dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Arthur Pears Fisher
Sir Henry Arthur Pears Fisher (20 January 1918 – 10 April 2005) was an English lawyer who served as a judge of the High Court of England and Wales and as President of Wolfson College, Oxford. Early life and education Fisher was born at The Hall, Repton, Derbyshire, the eldest of six sons of Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, at the time of Harry's birth the headmaster of Repton, later Bishop of Chester and of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury. A younger brother was Charles, who would become headmaster of three independent schools in Australia. Fisher went to school at Marlborough College and went on to Christ Church, Oxford where in 1938 he obtained a First in Classical Honour Moderations. His Literae Humaniores studies were curtailed by the outbreak of World War II, and after a year and a half he took a War Degree (unclassified). Second World War In 1940, Fisher joined the Leicestershire Regiment and remained with it until 1946. He was posted to In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Molony
Sir Joseph Thomas Molony, KCVO, QC (8 December 1907 – 28 May 1978) was a British barrister. He was Attorney-General to the Duchy of Cornwall from 1960 to 1969, Recorder of Bristol from 1964 to 1971, and Chairman of the General Council of the Bar from 1963 to 1966. The second son of Sir Thomas Molony, Bt., last Chief Justice of Ireland, Joseph Molony was educated at Downside School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a senior scholar and graduated MA and LLM in 1933. He was called to the bar in 1930 by the Inner Temple, receiving a Certificate of Honour, and was a Barstow Scholar and a Yarborough-Anderson Scholar. During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Air Force from 1940 to 1945 as a squadron leader. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence
Sir Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence (5 April 1902 – 3 February 1967) was a British lawyer, High Court Judge, Chairman of the Bar Council and Chairman of the National Incomes Commission.Cullen, Pamela V., ''A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams'' London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, He first came to prominence when he defended Dr John Bodkin Adams in 1957 on a charge of the murder of Mrs Edith Alice Morrell, the first murder case he handled. Prejudicial press coverage of the case prior to the trial suggested Adams was guilty and that the verdict would be a foregone conclusion, but Lawrence successfully secured an acquittal.Devlin, Patrick. ''Easing the passing: The trial of Doctor John Bodkin Adams'', London, The Bodley Head, 1985. Adams, if convicted, might have been hanged, had he also been found guilty on a second murder indictment that had been brought. Devlin at the time, and later investigation, suggested Adams was acquitted in part due to inadequate p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
