Overzealous
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has taken aim at bullying, inclusivity, and ethical issues as it looks for opinions on its next five-year strategy.
Barristers, the regulator says, can “sometimes allow their zeal to advance a client’s interests to embrace tactics which are ethically questionable”, amongst other problems.
Although the profession has many strengths including “the dedication of senior barristers to the development of the next generation” there remain a range of ethical and cultural issues.
In particular, chambers are “often informal in their governance” and “lack clear accountabilities”, something particularly harmful when pupils or junior barristers experience bullying and harassment “and need the protection of robust policies backed up by senior barristers.”
Whilst the regulator’s statement notes that “Some chambers are exemplary in their governance”, the BSB is looking to ensure that all chambers “can emulate the practice of the best”.
The regulator is also concerned about the tendency of barristers to go beyond ethical boundaries in the pursuit of their clients’ cases. The Post Office scandal is cited as a situation in which a barrister’s often conflicting duties to the court and their clients can “come under pressure”. “We are keen to learn the lessons from the inquiry and explore how we can make these expectations clearer and ensure that our regulatory arrangements are fit for purpose in the future” it added.
Other questions were raised about the “ethical formation of junior barristers in circumstances where chambers are now sometimes more virtual than real”, the prevalence of bullying and harassment, and the need to “be more inclusive generally”.
Addressing these issues is part of the BSB’s plan to create “An excellent and ethical barrister profession which inspires public confidence and advances the interest of justice”, with the BSB “recognised as an excellent regulator trusted to advance the public interest”.
The comments come as the regulator has made a call for evidence to guide its next five-year strategy which will begin in April 2026.
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