Behind Chapter 10

In Episode 10:  we discussed ‘breaking the mould’ and how the old pomp and circumstance and traditions at the bar and the practice of the law were gradually modified. We also shared an interesting anecdote about an eminent female Senior Counsel who caused a stir when she wore tailored  black trousers in Court  We recall a Bar Counsel committee meeting about a female Senior Counsel daring to wear black trousers with her senior counsel outfit.  We also discussed the delays and costs of  the adversarial system and looked at the emergence of mediation and the new Alternative Dispute Resolution processes (ADRs) that have swept across the world in the last 20 years and have created a substantial opportunity to widen access to justice and give people an opportunity of resolving their disputes without having to go through the acrimonious and bruising experience of a court case in the adversarial system. The Woolf Reforms and how this changed the landscape of case management through the courts.