A ‘substantial increase’ in complaints about barristers were made to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) last year
The BSB received 1,887 reports about conduct in the 12 months up to March 2021, a 29% increase on the previous year. In response, the BSB said it has ‘increased proactive supervision and support’ in key areas of pupillage and harassment.
However, the number of disbarments decreased to four, compared to ten in the previous year, four in the year before that and five in 2017-18. Nine barristers were suspended, compared to 15 the previous year, four the year before that and nine in 2017–18.
The BSB also dealt with more than 1,000 applications for authorisations, exemptions and waivers, and was able to permit 95 people to progress to pupillage pending the results of their Bar Practice Training Course exams.
Oliver Hanmer, BSB director of regulatory operations, said: ‘It has been a challenging year.’
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