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Panels
The Attorney
General maintains four panels of junior counsel to undertake
civil and EC work for all Government Departments, plus a number
of specialist Standing Counsel posts. Appointment is usually
for five years, renewed at the discretion of the Attorney
General. The main panels are normally advertised in the autumn
in Bar News and the Law Society Gazette. Standing Counsel
posts are advertised as they fall vacant.
There
are three London panels (an A panel for senior juniors, a
B panel for middle juniors and a C panel for junior juniors)
and a provincial panel. The size of each panel is determined
by need. Although appointment to any of the Panels cannot
be a guarantee that work will be available, it is intended
that each advocate appointed should be given at least a minimum
amount of work, and a monitoring process is in place for this
purpose. In order to increase the opportunity for appointment
or promotion within the panels, appointments are for a limited
period, with the possibility of renewal at the end of that
period. The performance of each individual member of the Panels
is also monitored.
Application
packs (consisting of application forms, referees' pro-formas
and equal opportunity monitoring forms) are available from
Hayley Devine on 020 7210 3440 or via email.
Further
information is available from the Treasury
Solicitor's Department website
Existing
Panels
The Attorney
General maintains a Regional Panel of advocates of differing
seniority to undertake civil work for all government departments
in 8 regions. The eight regions are: Liverpool, Manchester,
Preston and Mold; Birmingham, Coventry, Nottingham, Northampton,
Stafford and Lincoln; Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield; Newcastle
and Teesside; Cardiff and Swansea; Bristol and Exeter; Lewes;
and Chelmsford.
Regional
Panel
Review
of the current Panels of Junior Counsel to the Crown
The Attorney
General published his Review of current Panels of Junior Counsel
to the Crown on 18th July 2003.
Details
of the Review can be found in Publications/Reviews
In April
2001 the Attorney General announced the setting up of a single
prosecution panel of advocates for the following Government
Departments and Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
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HM
Customs & Excise |
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Department
of Trade & Industry |
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Departments
of Work & Pensions/Health |
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Inland
Revenue |
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Department
of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
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Health
and Safety Executive |
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Environment
Agency |
The panel
is now fully operational. The panel is divided into three
lists according to circuit areas:
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A - Advocates with 10 or more years experience
in actual practice who are able to prosecute up to and
including the more complex Crown Court cases. |
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| B
- Advocates with 5 or more years experience in actual
practice who are able to prosecute up to and including
the less complex Crown Court cases. |
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| C
- Advocates with 1 to 5 years experience in actual practice
(after completion of 12 months pupillage) able to prosecute
the most straightforward, routine cases. |
Attorney General's Unified List of Prosecuting Advocates webpage - View
In certain circumstances the Attorney General can appoint an Advocate to the Court (formerly known as an amicus curiae). View the guidance here, and a memorandum agreed between the Attorney and the Lord Chief Justice here.
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