13-17 November was National Anti-Bullying Week 2023. It’s an annual event coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance charity, which aims to raise awareness of bullying among young people. The week emphasises prevention and effective responses to bullying.

Barristers have spoken out about the bullying they are subjected to by some judges, breaking an old “taboo” by speaking publicly about judicial inappropriate behaviour.

Reported instances of bullying and harassment at the Bar have increased in recent years, according to a survey of barristers’ working lives by the Bar Council.

The Bar Council has revealed that women and Black employed barristers are most likely to have experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination at work.

Judges, QCs, junior barristers and solicitor advocates have come out in support of an anti-bullying campaign initiated by five barristers.

The Bar Council has partnered with tech company Spot to launch an anti-harassment and bullying tool for barristers to anonymously report inappropriate behaviour.

A statement posted on the Bar Council’s website highlights its support of trans, non-binary and gender-fluid individuals, and urges chambers to recognise that “some people are transgender and not everyone feels that their gender can be defined within the margins of gender binary.”

Over half of callers to the LawCare helpline in 2019 were trainee solicitors, pupil barristers or junior lawyers, according to the legal mental health charity’s latest figures.

Nearly 70% of legal professionals have experienced mental ill-health and 22% have experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination at work, according to LawCare’s recent survey.

The Bar Council’s Race Working Group has launched a new report to address inequality at the Bar. The report provides statistics and personal testimony to highlight the prejudice that is rife within the profession. 

The Legal Services Board has backed changes proposed by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority to require managers of law firms to challenge and report unfair treatment of colleagues.

The public now have the chance to choose their favourite ideas from the British Library’s Magna Carta: My Digital Rights project, which marks the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and the 25th anniversary of the web by asking young people to think about how the issues of freedom and control associated with Magna Carta apply to the digital age.

This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week (21 – 27 March). It’s a week to celebrate neurodivergent people, their abilities, skills and contributions they make to society and businesses.

Professional support charity LawCare has released its annual statistics from 2015, revealing that it received just over 900 calls to its helpline, made by 496 individuals.

The support charity LawCare has recently published its review of 2013, revealing that almost one in five lawyers complaining of stress are being bullied in the workplace.

The legal mental health charity LawCare has reported has reported that calls to its helpline have increased by 11% on last year.

An “overdose of testosterone” is driving talented women barristers to leave the Bar, leading barrister Lord Pannick QC has warned.

Solicitors’ firms and barristers’ chambers should reserve a proportion of training contracts and pupillages for candidates with disabilities in order to counterbalance the discrimination against disabilities pervading the legal profession, according to a new report.

Legal mental health charity LawCare is running a Christmas fundraising appeal, the Big Give Christmas Challenge, which will see all donations made to the charity via the Big Give website doubled.