UK Bar Council Seeking Applications For Bar Standards Board

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

12 August 2005

The UK's Bar Council announced on Monday that following the recent report on the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services by Sir David Clementi, it will establish a Bar Standards Board to be responsible for regulating the profession in the public interest.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) will combine professional expertise with a substantial lay element, with either the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the BSB being a lay person.

The BSB will also be assisted by four Committees: Rules, Qualifications, Monitoring and Conduct Committees, each of which will have significant lay input.

David Hobart, Chief Executive of the Bar Council, explained that:

"The Bar has a strong track record on self-regulation, and these changes anticipate the Government's forthcoming White Paper. The BSB will be the centerpiece of our future strategy as a front line body regulating the legal profession, and the public can have every confidence that the profession will be regulated in its interest. We want applications from all sections of the community for these important new roles".

The Bar Council is currently seeking applications from barristers and lay people who wish to be considered for appointment to the BSB and the Committees, and it is anticipated that the BSB and Committees will commence work from January 1, 2006.

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