The Bar should be proud of its contribution to the impartial administration of justice, says Stephen Hockman QC
As everyone knows, we have for many years had a divided legal profession in this country. The division was essentially based upon differing methods of qualification and differing, albeit overlapping, functions. The method of qualification for the Bar is to be called to the Bar by an Inn of Court. This historic arrangement had been recognised in the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, though the right of the Inns to call people to the Bar has never depended on statute. As to function, the Bar’s code of conduct has for many years delimited the functions of barrister in various ways. In practice, the Bar has specialised in advocacy and advisory work in connection with contentious matters.
The Clementi review accepted that it would be inappropriate to insist upon a single monolithic, heavy-handed regulatory system for the legal profession as a whole. Clementi accepted, and the Legal Services Act 2007 therefore embraces, the pre-existing system under
