We would be delighted to receive new applications for membership of the Kent Bar Mess.
If you are interested in joining, please contact the Junior at [email protected] for more details.
There is a £40 per year membership fee.
The formal process for applying, as set out in the Kent Bar Mess Constitution, is as follows:
"ELECTION TO MEMBERSHIP
13. Every candidate must be proposed and seconded in writing by two Members of the Mess.
14. The proposer must be a person who has been a Member of the Mess for at least 3 years continuously at the date of the proposal.
15. The Committee may in its discretion accept a proposal which is supported in writing by the candidate's head of chambers or by a barrister who has been in independent practice for at least 10 years.
16. Every candidate must give the Junior the following information in writing:
(a) name in full
(b) professional address
(c) Inn and year of Call
(d) date of commencing practice
(e) names of proposer and seconder
(f) whether he/she is a member or candidate for membership of the South Eastern Circuit
(g) whether he/she is a member of any other Circuit or Constituent bar mess of the South Eastern Circuit
(h) whether he/she has been refused membership by or excluded from any Circuit or any Constituent Bar Mess of the South-Eastern Circuit
(i) whether any charge of professional misconduct or breach of proper professional standards has been proved against him/her
17. Every application for membership shall be screened in the Bar Library or the Robing Room at Maidstone Crown Court for at least 14 days prior to election.
18. The Committee may in its discretion elect a candidate who is not a member of the South Eastern Circuit but is a bona fide candidate for membership thereof. Such election shall be conditional upon his/her being elected to the Circuit within 3 months of election to the Mess. If such a candidate is not so elected to the Circuit, his/her election to the Mess shall ipso facto be deemed null and void. The Junior shall so inform such a candidate and repay without interest any subscription received.
19. Election to membership shall be by a Committee meeting.
20. The Committee may in its discretion defer a decision on an application for membership for a period not exceeding 3 months or refer it to a general meeting of the Mess.
21. The proposer and seconder of any candidate whose application has been rejected by the Committee may jointly demand that the Junior call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Mess to decide the application. Such a demand must be in writing and made within one month of the decision being communicated to the candidate.
22. A candidate whose application for membership has been rejected by a general meeting shall have a right of appeal to the Circuit Committee of the South Eastern Circuit in accordance with the rules of the Circuit for the time being in force. such an appeal must be made within the prescribed time prescribed by those rules.
23. No candidate whose application has been rejected by the Committee and upon whose behalf a meeting has not been demanded in accordance with rule 21, or whose application has been rejected by a general meeting and following such rejection has either not appealed to the Circuit Committee under Rule 22 or whose appeal has been rejected by the Circuit Committee shall be eligible for election with the next 3 years.
24. A Member who has resigned or whose membership has lapsed for any reason and who wishes to rejoin must be proposed, seconded and elected in the usual manner."
If you are interested in joining, please contact the Junior at [email protected] for more details.
There is a £40 per year membership fee.
The formal process for applying, as set out in the Kent Bar Mess Constitution, is as follows:
"ELECTION TO MEMBERSHIP
13. Every candidate must be proposed and seconded in writing by two Members of the Mess.
14. The proposer must be a person who has been a Member of the Mess for at least 3 years continuously at the date of the proposal.
15. The Committee may in its discretion accept a proposal which is supported in writing by the candidate's head of chambers or by a barrister who has been in independent practice for at least 10 years.
16. Every candidate must give the Junior the following information in writing:
(a) name in full
(b) professional address
(c) Inn and year of Call
(d) date of commencing practice
(e) names of proposer and seconder
(f) whether he/she is a member or candidate for membership of the South Eastern Circuit
(g) whether he/she is a member of any other Circuit or Constituent bar mess of the South Eastern Circuit
(h) whether he/she has been refused membership by or excluded from any Circuit or any Constituent Bar Mess of the South-Eastern Circuit
(i) whether any charge of professional misconduct or breach of proper professional standards has been proved against him/her
17. Every application for membership shall be screened in the Bar Library or the Robing Room at Maidstone Crown Court for at least 14 days prior to election.
18. The Committee may in its discretion elect a candidate who is not a member of the South Eastern Circuit but is a bona fide candidate for membership thereof. Such election shall be conditional upon his/her being elected to the Circuit within 3 months of election to the Mess. If such a candidate is not so elected to the Circuit, his/her election to the Mess shall ipso facto be deemed null and void. The Junior shall so inform such a candidate and repay without interest any subscription received.
19. Election to membership shall be by a Committee meeting.
20. The Committee may in its discretion defer a decision on an application for membership for a period not exceeding 3 months or refer it to a general meeting of the Mess.
21. The proposer and seconder of any candidate whose application has been rejected by the Committee may jointly demand that the Junior call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Mess to decide the application. Such a demand must be in writing and made within one month of the decision being communicated to the candidate.
22. A candidate whose application for membership has been rejected by a general meeting shall have a right of appeal to the Circuit Committee of the South Eastern Circuit in accordance with the rules of the Circuit for the time being in force. such an appeal must be made within the prescribed time prescribed by those rules.
23. No candidate whose application has been rejected by the Committee and upon whose behalf a meeting has not been demanded in accordance with rule 21, or whose application has been rejected by a general meeting and following such rejection has either not appealed to the Circuit Committee under Rule 22 or whose appeal has been rejected by the Circuit Committee shall be eligible for election with the next 3 years.
24. A Member who has resigned or whose membership has lapsed for any reason and who wishes to rejoin must be proposed, seconded and elected in the usual manner."