News
Covid-19 Message from the PIBA Chair: 23 March 2020
Posted by Darryl Allen KC · March 23, 2020 12:22 PM
Dear PIBA Member
COVID19 UPDATE
Key worker status
The Chair of the Bar has issued an update on whether barristers qualify for key worker status during the COVID19 outbreak - here. This follows discussions with the MOJ and the Department for Education. The emphasis appears to be on the frequency/imminence of participation in Court hearings. Barristers must assess for themselves whether they fall in the category of key worker and, if so, whether they can nevertheless keep their children at home or need to send them to school.
Please read the Chair’s update and the clarification from the MOJ/Department for Education.
Remote hearings
The Master of the Rolls, the President, the Chancellor and the Senior Presiding Judge have issued a Protocol for Remote Hearings in Civil Proceedings. That document is on the Judiciary website and can be found here. Paragraphs worth highlighting:
10. In the present circumstances, the court and the parties and their representatives will need to be more proactive in relation to all forthcoming hearings.
11. ...
12. It will normally be possible for all short, interlocutory, or non-witness, applications to be heard remotely. Some witness cases will also be suitable for remote hearings.
And:
16. Judges, clerks, and/or officials will, in each case, wherever possible, propose to the parties one of three solutions:-
(i) a stated appropriate remote communication method (BT conference call, Skype for Business, court video link, BT MeetMe, Zoom, ordinary telephone call or another method) for the hearing;
(ii) that the case will proceed in court with appropriate precautions to prevent the transmission of Covid-19; or
(iii) that the case will need to be adjourned, because a remote hearing is not possible and the length of the hearing combined with the number of parties or overseas parties, representatives and/or witnesses make it undesirable to go ahead with a hearing in court at the current time.
Please familiarise yourself with the Protocol.
Local arrangements
Some of you may have seen that the DCJ for Manchester, HHJ Bird, has issued Guidance which applies to civil hearings in the County Court and the QBD in Greater Manchester. You can download that Guidance here. I understand that the DCJs for Liverpool, HHJ Wood QC, and for Bristol, HHJ Cotter QC, will be issuing something similar shortly. I am writing to all of the DCJs to find out what arrangements are being made locally to implement the recommendations in the Lord Chief Justice’s advice and in the national Protocol to avoid in person hearings whenever possible.
Webinars
The PIBA training and education team are putting together a Webinars programme for the coming weeks. We will be announcing the details soon.
I will keep you updated as soon as I have any other news.
Stay safe.
Darryl
Darryl Allen QC
Message from the PIBA Chair: 18 March 2020
Posted by Darryl Allen KC · March 23, 2020 12:20 PM
Dear PIBA Member
Hearings
Like you, PIBA has been carefully monitoring advice from Government and Government Agencies on COVID19. We are in contact with the Bar Council leadership team, the Circuit Leaders and the other SBAs. PIBA endorses the advice given by the Bar Council which is available on the Bar Council website; the latest bulletin can be found here. That advice continues to evolve in response to Government announcements; I would urge you to check it on a regular basis.
The Bar Council is pushing for clarity on listing of hearings. The Lord Chief Justice announced yesterday that any new Crown Court jury trial not expected to complete within three days will be adjourned; that arrangement will be kept under review; existing Crown Court trials will continue in the hope that they can be completed, although obviously that too will be kept under review. The Lord Chief Justice’s announcement can be found here.
As yet there is no clear guidance in relation to civil trials. The Lord Chief Justice’s latest announcement regarding civil hearings and trials can be found here, and is as follows,
The latest guidance from government on how to respond to COVID-19 will clearly have an impact on the operation of all courts in every jurisdiction. It is not realistic to suppose that it will be business as usual in any jurisdiction, but it is of vital importance that the administration of justice does not grind to a halt.
We continue to work closely with others in the justice system, including the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS, to work through the implications of the developing medical position for the operation of the courts.
Given the rapidly evolving situation, there is an urgent need to increase the use of telephone and video technology immediately to hold remote hearings where possible. Emergency legislation is being drafted which is likely to contain clauses that expand the powers in criminal courts to use technology in a wider range of hearings. The Civil Procedure Rules and Family Procedure Rules provide for considerable flexibility.
Our immediate aim is to maintain a service to the public, ensure as many hearings in all jurisdictions can proceed and continue to deal with all urgent matters.
The Bar Council’s latest advice on self-isolation and having to return/withdraw from a case is as follows,
As well as speaking to the Ethical Enquiries Service, it is vital that barristers follow government advice, for example on when to self-isolate. One consequence of self-isolation is that barristers may have to return instructions. Our analysis suggests that there are circumstances under which a barrister should be able to respond to any need for isolation without breaching the Handbook.
Each barrister, however, must take responsibility for assessing their own ethical position, based on the facts, considering government advice and taking a risk-based approach. If you have a query about any ethical issues, please contact the Bar Council’s Ethical Enquiries Service. Full details of the EES are available on the Bar Council website.
Whilst any decision by the independent regulator, the BSB, would be based upon the specific circumstances of the matter in hand, the Bar Council’s initial view is that there would be no cause for disciplinary action if there has not been a breach of the Handbook.
The Chair of the Bar’s latest email provides the following valuable confirmation,
We are grateful that the BSB has now confirmed that if a member of the Bar decides that, in line with government advice, the risk to their own health or to those close to them or to others at court, warrants not attending court, they will not be in breach of the Handbook.
As set out above, no blanket instruction can be given as to what to do; every case has to be assessed on its own facts and circumstances. If you have any concerns about attending Court or a Tribunal then do not hesitate to contact the Bar Council Ethical Enquiries Service for advice. The Enquiries Service can be contacted on 020 7611 1307 or email [email protected].
We are pushing the Judiciary and HMCTS for better information.
Work arrangements
We must all follow Government advice and work from home to the fullest possible extent. I would urge you all to explore the possibility of conducting your hearings by telephone or video-link wherever possible. I expect the Judiciary to be receptive to those requests and am aware that such requests are already being accommodated. The same applies to conferences and joint settlement meetings. Many solicitors and Insurers already have travel bans in force – you should feel able to insist on attending a conference or JSM virtually if at all possible.
There are many web-based video meeting providers. A number of them are providing free trial offers (examples are GoToMeeting and Skype for Business, but there are others). The technology works very well if you have a decent internet connection. I would urge you to make use of these products. Trial them with colleagues to get used to them; speak to colleagues, inside and outside of Chambers, for recommendations and advice. In advance of conferences and settlement meetings, test the technology with your opponent/professional clients on a “dry run” and agree an informal protocol as to how the communications will work. Taking a little time to do that will avoid difficulties and stress on the day. Please be aware that many of these products have a ‘recording’ option so consider whether you are prepared to be recorded or not.
Please let me know if you have any successes or failures in your remote working experiences; we are all, to differing extents, learning as we go and information sharing via PIBA messages could be a useful resource.
We would remind all members to ensure that their remote working arrangements are GDPR compliant. Useful advice as to steps to be taken to ensure compliance can be found here.
Webinars
Sadly we have been forced to cancel the Annual Conference, PIBA’s flagship training [and social] event. It is unlikely that there will be opportunities to physically attend training events in the coming weeks. We will therefore be broadcasting webinars for PIBA members to fill that training gap and to provide an element of social interaction. Our intention is to arrange this via web-based video meeting providers and we will notify of you of dates, times and topics as soon as we have a programme in place. We are hoping to start this very soon and that you will make a particular effort to attend virtually to increase contact with others during these difficult times. If Courts are closed altogether we will endeavour to increase the number of webinars.
Financial and wellbeing
PIBA is also acutely aware of the potential financial and wellbeing implications of the current situation. The Bar Council is doing all that it can to secure financial support and adjustments with HMRC for the profession. Speak to your Clerks, Practice Managers and Management Committees about what steps, if any, can be taken to ensure continuity of work and income.
On the issue of wellbeing, we must all do our utmost to look after our physical and mental health. It is also a time to do what we can to support our colleagues, be they barristers, clerks or other staff. Increased working from home runs the risk of social and professional isolation, and negative impact on mental wellbeing. Setting up informal WhatsApp groups or arranging to speak to colleagues during the week are small but valuable steps to ensure we have regular contact. Do not be afraid to ask colleagues for advice or support.
The Bar Council’s Wellbeing website is an excellent resource. I would urge you to access it, even if simply as part of your CPD programme.
Lastly, if you have any ideas for ways in which PIBA can assist over the coming months, please do not hesitate to let me know.
I will keep you updated as and when I have more news.
Yours,
Darryl
Darryl Allen QC
Chair of PIBA
2020 Annual Conference Cancelled
Posted by Darryl Allen KC · March 17, 2020 9:30 PM
Please see below for an email sent to ticketholders for the Annual Conference
In light of the government’s most recent change of guidance yesterday afternoon, St. Catz have cancelled the PIBA annual conference.
We recognise that, though disappointed, many of you will be glad of the certainty this brings. The EC had been in regular communication with the college for the past week or so. Until this morning the college’s line – in accordance with university guidance – was that we would have been liable for the full cost of the conference if we had not gone ahead. We hoped and expected that St Catz would change its mind. Thankfully, it has done so.
We are conscious that many of you use the conference as the mainstay of your CPD programme planning. We hope to persuade as many of the speakers – many of whom had already prepared their talks – to deliver them at some stage later in the year, whether as part of an extended evening seminar programme, of the London and/or northern circuit winter conferences, or otherwise. Further information will follow when we are in a position to plan mass gatherings once again.
Our constitution requires us to hold our AGM fairly soon. We realise that, for many, this is the highlight of the annual conference! We are therefore looking at ways to hold it virtually. Again, further information will follow at some stage in the next week or so.
Those of you who have paid will be refunded over the coming weeks, including those who had already cancelled. Please bear with us in this regard.
Stay safe, keep well, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon. PIBA 2021 will be a gala event!
Swift v Carpenter
Posted by Darryl Allen KC · October 14, 2019 10:11 PM
The appeal is due to be heard in March 2020. PIBA has permission to intervene.
Both parties are obtaining expert evidence from an IFA, property valuation expert, an economist and an actuary. Reports due to be exchanged on 15 November 2019 and parties (including PIBA) have seven days to put questions.
Block Listing
Posted by Darryl Allen KC · October 14, 2019 9:54 PM
The RCJ conducted a further blitz over the summer. Only 21 responses were received to PIBA’s questionnaire. 11 of those responses stated that the hearing was adjourned due to judicial unavailability. PIBA meet with HMCTS London on 4thNovember to discuss the effects of the blitz listing and other London listing issues. Members are strongly encouraged to submit details of their experiences, both good and bad, to any EC member. We are particularly interested in your experiences at the Clerkenwell County Court where HMCTS tell us they have made a concerted effort to improve listing.