According to the BSB's findings, the growing number of commercial pressures that are coming to bear on the profession are leading barristers to compromise ethical standards in the way they service clients, posing a potential threat to the public. In particular, the dwindling pool of publicly funded legal work in combination with the rise of alternative providers are requiring barristers to work harder to compete for work from clients—and potentially to compromise on ethics and risk awareness when 'going the extra mile'.
Interestingly, the BSB has also warned of the growing power and influence of wealthy clients over the Bar at times when barristers are under greater commercial pressure, flagging a potential threat to the independence of the Bar going forward without close and careful regulation:
'Our fear is that by trying to win and retain influential clients or intermediaries, some members of the bar could resort to financial tactics which harm the wider public interest and threaten the Bar's independence,' the report reads. Failing to make appropriate accommodations for vulnerable clients, or a declining quality of service due to stress and fatigue, were also flagged as important risks for barristers under commercial pressure.
The impact of commercial pressures on barristers and the services they provide is already detectable in complaints received by the BSB and throughout subsequent investigations and enforcements undertaken, the report suggests.
The BSB risk outlook, the first of its kind, highlights three key risk areas for the profession moving forward in outlining its own approach to risk-based regulation. Alongside commercial pressures, the regulator has highlighted failures to meet the needs of consumers and a lack of diversity at the Bar as two other important risk areas that it will be keeping a close eye on going forward.
Source: LegalFutures; BSB
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