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The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned the Bar’s regulator against increasing the qualification threshold to come to the Bar.
The panel said that increasing the current requirement that students have attained a 2:2 to a 2:1 would ‘unduly restrict access to the profession’.
Responding to the Bar Standards Board’s consultation on Future Bar Training, the panel said the change was ‘disproportionate’ and could prevent ‘meritorious’ students from joining the profession at a time when the Bar is seeking to improve access to the profession.
It said there is ‘little or no evidence’ that those who achieve a 2:2 ‘would deliver poor outcome for consumers’ or ‘offer inferior services’.
While the universities classification process might have ‘passed its sell by date’, said the panel, the ‘flaws in the system cannot be used to justify a blanket ban’.
In its response, the Bar Council said that a lower second class degree should remain the minimum requirement.
Importantly, it suggested the creation of a two part Bar Professional Training Course whereby only those who pass the first part may continue to the second, in order to cut down on the number of students paying huge fees and expenses who have no hope of securing a pupillage.
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned the Bar’s regulator against increasing the qualification threshold to come to the Bar.
The panel said that increasing the current requirement that students have attained a 2:2 to a 2:1 would ‘unduly restrict access to the profession’.
Responding to the Bar Standards Board’s consultation on Future Bar Training, the panel said the change was ‘disproportionate’ and could prevent ‘meritorious’ students from joining the profession at a time when the Bar is seeking to improve access to the profession.
It said there is ‘little or no evidence’ that those who achieve a 2:2 ‘would deliver poor outcome for consumers’ or ‘offer inferior services’.
While the universities classification process might have ‘passed its sell by date’, said the panel, the ‘flaws in the system cannot be used to justify a blanket ban’.
In its response, the Bar Council said that a lower second class degree should remain the minimum requirement.
Importantly, it suggested the creation of a two part Bar Professional Training Course whereby only those who pass the first part may continue to the second, in order to cut down on the number of students paying huge fees and expenses who have no hope of securing a pupillage.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
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
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
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The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Grok around and find out – or not? Mariya Peykova investigates the nudification scandal, what the law has to say about sexually explicit deepfakes, and whether stronger regulation is needed
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
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