Bar Council escapes £50,000 damages bill

The Bar Council has escaped paying libel damages to a solicitor after mistakenly telling its 10,000 members that he was not qualified.
Last year Robert Kearns, the senior partner of Swansea based Kearns & Co, sued the Bar Council after its head of professional conduct Mark Stobbs wrote to barristers telling them Kearns’ related company Kearns Agency was not a law firm.
The Court of Appeal ruled today (17 March) that the Bar Council had a qualified privilege defence in disseminating such material to its members and was not liable for damages of over £50,000.