Marc Beaumont imagines a Bar strangling itself in red tape. But is he day-dreaming ?
Imagine a Bar where you had to do 12 hours CPD every year. That is not difficult for it is what we have now. Now imagne a Bar where you had to pay £ 1,200 to the Bar Council by way of a subscription. Again, not difficult. This day has now come. But what about a Bar in which you had to get annual accreditation ? You might have to fill out a form for every practice area in which you practise. You might need to pay a fee for each such area. And you might need 3 references from Judges, or Silks or other top brass before you could practise. Every year you would have to do this. Imagine being skilled and experienced in 3 areas, or 6 or 10. Such a vision of the future would be a Bar without the general common law barrister. And do not think that this change would only affect publicly funded Barristers. There are some who want it for all of us.
The BSB argues that we need to improve our standards. We need to be monitored more rigorously. Before it spends the Bar Council's money and the Bar's resources on this debate, perhaps we could please see some statistics, some empirical evidence that what is likely to be an unholy waste of money and resources is justified.
