With the Government determined to push forward with its programme of reforms recommended by Sir David Clementi, following his wide-ranging review of the legal profession, it is widely recognised that the legal profession in the UK is entering a key phase in its continuing development.
Certainly there is no shortage of issues facing the professional Bar in England and Wales. Current areas of concern include the falling number of cases reaching trial as alternative forms of dispute resolution – such as mediation – gain in popularity, and the increasing stratification of the profession demonstrated by the growing financial disparity between the highest commercial earners and other areas of the Bar.
