*/
The Bar Council has closed down its escrow facility due to lack of use by barristers and competition from providers.
Launched five years ago, Barco was designed to help barristers compete on a level playing field with solicitors by allowing them to hold client money. Client funds were held in a Barclays account, with barristers paying an administration fee and any interest returned to clients.
But the Bar Council said that the income from fees and charges from the scheme did not match the costs and expenditure incurred in delivering the service.
It identified two commercial schemes, Shieldpay and Transpact, which have been reviewed for compliance by the Bar Council’s Ethics Committee as particularly ‘suitable escrow providers for the self-employed Bar’.
The Bar Council has closed down its escrow facility due to lack of use by barristers and competition from providers.
Launched five years ago, Barco was designed to help barristers compete on a level playing field with solicitors by allowing them to hold client money. Client funds were held in a Barclays account, with barristers paying an administration fee and any interest returned to clients.
But the Bar Council said that the income from fees and charges from the scheme did not match the costs and expenditure incurred in delivering the service.
It identified two commercial schemes, Shieldpay and Transpact, which have been reviewed for compliance by the Bar Council’s Ethics Committee as particularly ‘suitable escrow providers for the self-employed Bar’.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, discusses what family law professionals need to know about hallucinogens, from the main hallucinogenic drugs encountered in family proceedings, to their effects and the testing options available
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Developing a tech start-up demands a different definition of excellence to the Bar, says Saara Idelbi. The co-creator of Advocatr on entrepreneurship, AI advocacy training, and matching the thrill of a killer cross-examination
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
