Advice on High Court representation rules come into force
New duties on defence solicitors with clients indicted to appear in the High Court have come into force.
The rules follow concerns from the bench at a perceived tendency of solicitors to instruct solicitor advocates connected with their own practice. There has been some controversy over whether this has affected the quality of representation offered to those facing serious charges, particularly in murder cases where an accused has traditionally had a right to be repsented by a Queen's Counsel.
A solicitor for an accused charged with murder must now, before the preliminary hearing, "take reasonable steps to identify a selection of Queen’s Counsel who appear to be available to accept instructions to represent the accused". They must also inform their client of their right to be represented by Queen’s Counsel, giving them a copy of a new form which sets out their rights and the qualifications of QCs, advocates and solicitor advocates, along with a summary of the selection of QCs they have identified.
For other High Court charges, the solicitor must "take reasonable steps to identify a selection of counsel who appear to be available to accept instructions to represent the accused", and give the accused a shorter form which explains the qualifications of advocates and solicitor advocates, and a summary of their selection.
The forms emphasise the more extensive training of advocates as specialised court pleaders, but also state that the skills and experience of both advocates and solicitor advocates are variable, and that "The status of advocate does not mean that he or she will be more highly skilled than a solicitor advocate."