A wake-up call for Bar watchdog

The Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service normally dishes out harsh words to barristers, and occasionally disbars them, but it recently turned its fire on regulators.
At the centre of the turning tables was Ramya Nagesh, a barrister who specialises in appearing before inquests. Nagesh was accused of unprofessional behaviour at an inquest held remotely, during which her “speech was slurred … she looked drowsy as if she had fallen asleep or was possibly under the influence of substances”.
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What the Bar Standards Board, which prosecutes barristers before the tribunal, had failed to take into account, was evidence that Nagesh had a “medical condition, namely fatigue and excessive sleepiness (as medically defined), which caused her to be in a state of partial sleep resulting in confusion, impaired cognition, and impaired memory and insight”.
In its ruling, the tribunal pulled no punches, criticising the board for not having “stood back and considered carefully whether it should pursue this case”. In the end, the tribunal ruled that the barrister was “beyond reproach”.
Barristers have “low expectations” that sexual harassment will be eradicated from the profession, says the solicitor and former MP charged with doing just that.
• Barristers fear end of racy jokes under tough harassment rules
Harriet Harman KC was appointed by the Bar Council in June to lead an independent review of bullying and harassment among barristers. This week she told the Law Gazette, the website published by the Law Society, that there was a “fatalism” in the profession that she understood. “I hear what they say about their low expectations, but all should have confidence that there is a determination in myself and the Bar Council that this is not going to be just another report.”
Abigail Rolling, a solicitor turned comedian, performed to sell-out audiences in her third season at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. For those who missed it, the show, called Shit Lawyer, addressed issues ranging from the Post Office scandal to the under-funding of the criminal justice system and falling number of legal aid lawyers. A laugh a minute, obviously.
Addressing the crisis in prison capacity, Rolling told audiences that it would cost a bit less to send a child to Eton than it would to put a person in jail for a year (both cost roughly £50,000). She quipped: “Although a year in prison doesn’t quite have the same stigma.”
Sadly, that did not win Rolling the prize for the best gag, but there’s always next year — unless Labour solves all the problems in the justice system and jails by then.