Nicholas Lavender QC shares his reflections on the Annual Bar Conference
This year’s Bar Conference, on Saturday 10 November, was intended as a celebration of excellence. There were certainly some excellent speakers, starting with Lord Hughes of Ombersley and ending with Sir Alan Moses, who looked back on 46 years as a barrister and judge and forward to his new role as chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
There were 16 other sessions, with expert speakers looking in depth at a range of issues. Naturally, there was a focus on advocacy skills in various contexts: criminal and commercial cases; handling vulnerable witnesses in the family and criminal courts; and handling expert witnesses. We debated the practical steps which can help to achieve excellence. For instance, in the Family Law Bar Association’s session the mock cross-examination of a child witness was dissected, question by question, by a consultant psychiatrist, Professor Samuel Stein.
Adapting to change
Several sessions focused on practice management and career development, both in England and abroad, including expanding one’s knowledge of EU law. These all illustrated the point made in my
