Bar Standards Board refuses to reveal the chambers at which Samuel Campbell practises
A pupil barrister has been handed a £1,000 fine from his regulator after engaging in “dishonest” conduct by submitting someone else’s skeleton argument into a moot competition.
According to the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) disciplinary findings, pupil barrister Samuel Campbell “obtained copies of the skeleton arguments of other counsel in his chambers for the purpose of a pupil’s moot”.
Campbell, who was only called to the bar in July 2014, then proceeded to submit a skeleton argument that was “almost entirely copied” from a member of his chambers as part of the moot competition.
The incident — that took place in February — will have almost certainly damaged Campbell’s chances of securing tenancy, with his set or any other.
Despite being found guilty by a BSB Professional Conduct Committee earlier this month, the regulatory body refused to reveal to Legal Cheek at which chambers Campbell was currently a pupil, only confirming that he was a member of Inner Temple.
Reprimanded and ordered to pay a fine of £1,000, the committee concluded that Campbell’s actions amounted to a breach of the regulatory rules, in that he failed to “act with honesty and integrity”.
A BSB spokesperson said:
Barristers are expected to act with honesty and integrity and in this case the barrister did not meet this standard. The finding serves as a warning to barristers that such actions can result in a disciplinary finding.