The success – or otherwise – of striking criminal barristers’ campaign to prevent the dismantling of their profession will ultimately be decided by whether or not they can get the public onside…
As attorney general Dominic Grieve indicated to Legal Cheek last month, the government doesn’t think the Bar will be able to pull this off: “The criminal Bar would find itself in a very difficult position if it were to be seen to be resisting this move, because I don’t think that it is likely to have public opinion on its side in the arguments it is putting forward,” he said.
But others reckon that there may be more sympathy out there for criminal barristers than the likes of Grieve are estimating – especially if a clear message can be articulated about the dangers of handing the keys of the criminal justice system to companies such as G4S.
Ominously for criminal barristers, though, even on their big day of boycott of the northern courts, the government seems to be winning the PR war…
For a bunch of advocates, it is oddly difficult to get hold of anyone anyone from theCriminal Bar Association to advocate their case.
— Jack of Kent (@JackofKent) April 22, 2013
In contrast, Ministry of Justice have provided a thorough verbal briefing and detailed email.This is how media coverage is won and lost.
— Jack of Kent (@JackofKent) April 22, 2013
It hasn’t helped that the official Twitter account for the boycott meeting – @NotopctNorthern – is locked, meaning its messages can’t be retweeted.
. @seanjones11kbw they are tweeting via a padlocked account – @notopctnorthern
— Matt Seys-Llewellyn (@SessSays) April 22, 2013
It’s a shame, because the meeting seems to have been a big hit, hauling in 450+ lawyers to the Radisson hotel in Manchester. I guess we’ll get to read about how it went later…