*/
Twice as many barristers were disbarred last year than during the previous year, a report from the regulator revealed.
The annual Enforcement report from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) showed that 19 barristers were disbarred in 2016/17, an increase from seven in 2015/16.
It said that reports received from barristers by other members of the profession for serious misconduct rose to110 in 2016/17 from 80 in 2015/16. But only 53% of these reports resulted in a formal complaint being raised. This, it said, demonstrated that barristers were ‘rightly erring on the side of caution in meeting their obligations to report misconduct’.
The report showed that the general trend in complaints about barristers was down, with fewer enquiries and reports received leading to formal complaints being opened this year – 366 in 2016/17 compared with 434 last year.
Excluding an unusual number relating to one individual barrister, the report showed a lower number of complaints had been referred to disciplinary action this year too –down from 53 last year to 46 in 2016/17.
Commenting on the report, the BSB’s Director of Professional Conduct, Sara Jagger, said: ‘It is important that everyone can have confidence in the conduct of barristers. This report shows that we are succeeding in our efforts to take action against the small number of barristers whose professional conduct poses the biggest risk to the public.’
Twice as many barristers were disbarred last year than during the previous year, a report from the regulator revealed.
The annual Enforcement report from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) showed that 19 barristers were disbarred in 2016/17, an increase from seven in 2015/16.
It said that reports received from barristers by other members of the profession for serious misconduct rose to110 in 2016/17 from 80 in 2015/16. But only 53% of these reports resulted in a formal complaint being raised. This, it said, demonstrated that barristers were ‘rightly erring on the side of caution in meeting their obligations to report misconduct’.
The report showed that the general trend in complaints about barristers was down, with fewer enquiries and reports received leading to formal complaints being opened this year – 366 in 2016/17 compared with 434 last year.
Excluding an unusual number relating to one individual barrister, the report showed a lower number of complaints had been referred to disciplinary action this year too –down from 53 last year to 46 in 2016/17.
Commenting on the report, the BSB’s Director of Professional Conduct, Sara Jagger, said: ‘It is important that everyone can have confidence in the conduct of barristers. This report shows that we are succeeding in our efforts to take action against the small number of barristers whose professional conduct poses the biggest risk to the public.’
Justice system requires urgent attention and next steps on the Harman Review
Q&A with Tim Lynch of Jordan Lynch Private Finance
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Why Virtual Assistants Can Meet the Legal Profession’s Exacting Standards
Despite increased awareness, why are AI hallucinations continuing to infiltrate court cases at an alarming rate? Matthew Lee investigates
Many disabled barristers face entrenched obstacles to KC appointment – both procedural and systemic, writes Diego F Soto-Miranda
The proscribing of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act is an assault on the English language and on civil liberties, argues Paul Harris SC, founder of the Bar Human Rights Committee
For over three decades, the Bar Mock Trial Competition has boosted the skills, knowledge and confidence of tens of thousands of state school students – as sixth-form teacher Conor Duffy and Young Citizens’ Akasa Pradhan report
Suzie Miller’s latest play puts the legal system centre stage once more. Will it galvanise change? asks Rehna Azim