Risk taking and abuses of power by senior barristers rife at the Bar, says BSB
updated on 15 April 2016
Barristers are taking more risks as a result of commercial pressures, while some senior barristers may be abusing their power over women, pupils and junior barristers, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has found.
The BSB’s findings came from its wider examination into regulatory risk. As Legal Futures reports, the BSB found that legal aid cuts and increased competition from solicitors and other legal services providers are presenting a potential danger to the public because they are leading some barristers to rush cases, cut costs and even compromise ethical principles in order to make ends meet. This includes trying to retain wealthy and influential clients in a way that undermines barristers’ independence and thus harms the wider public interest.
Then findings also revealed the effects of a continuing, elitist and wholly disgraceful lack of diversity in the barristers’ profession, which creates a “discriminatory working culture and practices” where senior barristers feel they can treat pupils and junior barristers - especially women - badly. The BSB also said that the lack of diversity at the Bar is undermining public confidence in the legal system and the judiciary.
The BSB said in its report: “We see the consequences of commercial pressures through the complaints we receive and the subsequent investigations and enforcement action we undertake. [Some barristers are] rushing certain parts of a client’s case, for example, by conducting legal research quickly or failing to prepare properly ahead of a court appearance; making mistakes due to overwork or stress; and failing to make reasonable adjustments for disabled or vulnerable clients who need additional (sometimes more costly) support.
“Significant work is needed to improve social mobility and make the Bar representative of society. There are also indications of senior barristers misusing their position of power over pupils and junior barristers. Talking with barristers, we have also heard about women being given lower-paid work than men, and suggestions that clerks are not always allocating work or agreeing fees fairly for junior barristers.”
