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All change at the Bar?

29 November 2007
Issue: 7299 / Categories: Legal News
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News

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.)
 

Issue: 7299 / Categories: Legal News
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Francis Ho, City of London Law Society

NLJ Career Profile: Francis Ho, City of London Law Society

Francis Ho, Charles Russell Speechlys partner, was recently appointed chair of the Construction Law Committee of the City of London Law Society. He discusses the challenges of learning to lead, the importance of professional ethics, and the power of the written word, withNLJ

Slater Heelis—Chester office

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North West presence strengthened with Chester office launch

Cooke, Young & Keidan—Elizabeth Meade

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Firm grows commercial disputes expertise with partner promotion

NEWS
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) must overhaul its complaints and risk assessment processes to fix ‘systemic shortcomings’, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said
The opt-out collective actions regime is facing ‘significant challenges’ but could benefit the UK by £24bn a year if enhanced and expanded, a report by Stephenson Harwood has found
Ministers have rejected the Justice Committee review’s key recommendation for the ailing county court system—an ‘urgent and comprehensive’ review by spring at the latest
Firms preparing to mount Mazur applications alleging the other side has acted in breach of the Legal Services Act 2007 may be left disappointed, the Law Society has said
The first Post Office Capture conviction—the accounting software used before the faulty Horizon system—has been referred for appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)
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