12 May 2022

In a speech to the Legal Practice Management Association today the Director General of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), Mark Neale, encouraged practice managers to work with the BSB to promote standards, equality and access at the Bar.

Mr Neale set out the BSB’s strategy for the next three years and stressed the vital role of chambers in:

  • promoting high standards - by acting as the conduits for feedback to barristers on their performance;
  • ensuring equality and inclusion – particularly in the areas of recruitment, work allocation and career progression;
  • countering bullying and harassment; and
  • in facilitating access for consumers - by improving consumers’ understanding of the services barristers can provide and of the price and quality of those services.    

While he made clear that the BSB is not currently seeking to regulate chambers themselves, he said that he wanted to encourage them all to adopt best practice in these areas and to go beyond the minimum regulatory requirements where possible.

In his speech, Mr Neale said:

“We are not setting out to regulate chambers themselves.  But we do want chambers and the profession to be allies in advancing our regulatory objectives.  To achieve that, we all have to be clear what good practice looks like.  And there is plenty of good practice on which to draw and to build.

I want to see senior barristers, alongside chambers chief executives, championing standards, equality and access within chambers to demonstrate that these things matter and to deliver effective reform.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About the Bar Standards Board

Our mission is to regulate barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales in the public interest. For more information about what we do visit: http://bit.ly/1gwui8t

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