*/
Barristers will be told that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) must not be used to cover up offences that should be reported to the police or regulator.
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is set to issue guidance for barristers on the use of NDAs in cases of alleged sexual harassment. A spokesperson told Counsel that the guidance will state that the use of NDAs is inappropriate if it seeks to prevent the reporting of matters that are disclosable to regulatory or law enforcement bodies or under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, and that they should not be used to ‘threaten, intimidate or deter’ someone from making a proper disclosure.
In updated guidance regarding the reporting of serious misconduct of others, the regulator made it clear that enforcement will not be taken against barristers who fail to report discrimination, harassment or victimisation where they have been the subject of the misconduct. The BSB is also piloting a scheme to grant a waiver from the duty to report for barristers trained to advise and support others.
Figures released in the regulator’s annual Enforcement Report showed that there were eight reports of sexual harassment by barristers in 2016-17, while there had been none in the previous year.
The report showed that the number of complaints against barristers had risen by nearly 30% over the past year to 475 – the highest number of new complaints opened in any year since 2013-14 – and reports of serious misconduct had risen to 133 from 110. However, the number of barristers disbarred fell to six from 20.
Barristers will be told that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) must not be used to cover up offences that should be reported to the police or regulator.
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is set to issue guidance for barristers on the use of NDAs in cases of alleged sexual harassment. A spokesperson told Counsel that the guidance will state that the use of NDAs is inappropriate if it seeks to prevent the reporting of matters that are disclosable to regulatory or law enforcement bodies or under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, and that they should not be used to ‘threaten, intimidate or deter’ someone from making a proper disclosure.
In updated guidance regarding the reporting of serious misconduct of others, the regulator made it clear that enforcement will not be taken against barristers who fail to report discrimination, harassment or victimisation where they have been the subject of the misconduct. The BSB is also piloting a scheme to grant a waiver from the duty to report for barristers trained to advise and support others.
Figures released in the regulator’s annual Enforcement Report showed that there were eight reports of sexual harassment by barristers in 2016-17, while there had been none in the previous year.
The report showed that the number of complaints against barristers had risen by nearly 30% over the past year to 475 – the highest number of new complaints opened in any year since 2013-14 – and reports of serious misconduct had risen to 133 from 110. However, the number of barristers disbarred fell to six from 20.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
By Kem Kemal, CEO, Henry Dannell
By BSK Financial Planning
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs
Susie Griffin on the admin that keeps barristers from billable work
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
Kick off your career at the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair this October – it’s one of the most valuable opportunities for aspiring barristers, says Amelia Clegg
Join us on Saturday 21 November 2026 at Leeds Beckett University and see for yourself why the North continues to be an exceptional place to build a career at the Bar
The golden age of advocacy? David Langwallner pays homage to the filmic if contentious barrister Sir Edward Carson and some of his contemporaries
Henry Fingerhut outlines what the Bar Standards Board AI guidance means for early career barristers
Not yet, says Jacob Turner. Regulation, unlike the technology itself, is a domain the legal profession can still control
