Complaints against barristers for potential misconduct rose to 960 from 882 in the past year, according to the Bar Standards Board’s enforcement annual report for 2016-17.
Out of these complaints, however, fewer formal complaints were opened this year (366 compared to 434 in the previous year). Reports of serious misconduct rose from 80 to 110 in the same period, although only about half of these resulted in a formal complaint being raised.
Some 19 barristers were disbarred, compared to seven in the previous year. The average time taken to address complaints has reduced by more than 1.5 months to less than three months in the past two years.
