All change at the Bar?

Most barristers are doing a good job, according to solicitors and clients—but they need to learn to listen more, a new survey reveals.
Perceptions of Barristers, by Ipsos MORI, commissioned by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), shows that 96% of solicitors and other instructors rate barristers as providing good or excellent advice. Prisoners aren’t as impressed, but 60% still share this view.

Although nearly 90% of barristers feel they spend enough time with their clients, only 43% of prisoners, 57% of the public and 66% of solicitors agree with them. And while two-thirds of barristers feel clients are happy they can express any concerns, fewer than half of clients agree.
Regulation worries many barristers, with more than half of those interviewed feeling the current system is not effective at dealing with sub-standard barristers. The Bar Vocational Course (BVC) also takes a knock, with 47% saying there are gaps in the skills it provides.

Pupillages get the thumbs up from 93% of barristers, however, as does the chambers system with 83% of barristers questioned saying it offers a good quality service. Less than a quarter want partnership or corporate structures introduced.

BSB chairman, Ruth Evans, says: “While this research demonstrates that there is considerable public and professional confidence in barristers, it also provides us with important evidence about a number of areas of critical importance for the future of the Bar and the services it provides.”

She admits that the Bar’s approach to client care needs to be developed. The BVC and the Bar’s Code of Conduct are already being reviewed.
Meanwhile, the final report of the Working Party on Entry to the Bar has been published, which urges wide-ranging measures to improve access for less well-off students.

Chaired by Lord Neuberger, the report calls for: the development of the Bar Council’s schools placement schemes; an increase in expenses-paid mini-pupillages; and for all barristers to undergo equality and diversity training as part of their continuing professional development. Recommended changes to the BVC include: an English language entry requirement; a 2:1 entry condition; and a Bar entrance examination.

Lord Neuberger says: “There is a perception that the Bar is only open to the more privileged. Many from less fortunate backgrounds are put off from even considering a career at the Bar.

“The cost and the risk of entry procedures and training represent further significant disincentives, particularly to those who are less financially well off.” (See this issue p 1669.)