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The Bar Standards Board (“the Board”), the regulatory body for barristers in England and Wales, has recently published its Enforcement Annual Report for 2015/ 2016. The report catalogues the regulator’s enforcement work during the past year and highlights a significant increase in the number of complaints being processed by the Board.
Complaints
According to the report, the Board came to a decision on 552 complaints during the period 2015/ 2016, compared with just 363 during the period 2014/15. In addition, the report highlights the significant increase in the percentage of complaints resulting in administrative sanctions (warnings or low level fines) which rose from 3% to 14% during the relevant period. The report also addresses the benefits to the Board’s complaints-handling processes as a result of adopting a risk-based approach to enforcement.
Guidance for Barristers
The Report comes in the wake of the recent publication of a revised Professional Statement for Barristers (“Statement”) by the Board. The statement identifies a minimum threshold to be attained by barristers on being called to the Bar and comprises a list of competencies, covering all areas of practice.
Whilst the statement acknowledges that newly qualified barristers are not expected to reach the same level of competency as experienced barristers, it serves to set a baseline level of skill and knowledge to be attained on entering the profession. The competencies included in the Statement are supplemental to the Code of Practice for Barristers provided in the Bar Standards Board Handbook.
Authors: Stephen McLoughlin and Daniel Dwyer