” For the last two years I have been Vice Chair and then Chair of the The Criminal Bar Association.” Mary Prior KC

For the last two years I have been Vice Chair and then Chair of the The Criminal Bar Association. Now that service has completed I am enjoying spending more time with my extended family and friends who have accepted that part of this role has meant less time with me.

I hope that by the end of this year three things will happen. Firstly, that the Government brings in an annual inflation-based pay increase for the criminal Barristers who keep the system functioning. Secondly, that there is parity in the fees for prosecuting and defending serious criminal cases. Thirdly, that the junior Bar is paid for hearings within 20 working days of doing them, not in 2-4 years when cases end. Please treat the criminal Bar and criminal
solicitors who are key workers in the criminal justice system in the same way as every other person who works within it. An annual pay rise shouldn’t be something we have to take industrial action or issue proceedings to achieve. Please respect our profession whilst you can. Do not assume that people will remain within it if you do not.