Proposals to give solicitors automatic rights of audience in all courts undermine consumer interest and will enable barristers to market themselves as superior advocates, the chairman of the Bar Council has told the Gazette.

Tim Dutton QC said the proposals to end the current requirement for solicitors to undertake additional training before conducting higher court advocacy were inappropriate and would cause standards to fall.

Dutton also said it would cause a differential market, which would allow barristers, who have undergone external competency assessment, to market themselves as superior advocates.

The plans outlined in the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) consultation, which ended last week, will, subject to approval from the Ministry of Justice, see the current system replaced by revised competency standards and a new voluntary accreditation and assessment scheme.

Dutton said: ‘Clients need to know that both barristers and solicitors have achieved a basic minimum standard of assessment… This is not a threat to the bar, but to the consumer interest. Some barristers may even regard it as an opportunity.’

Responding to the consultation, the Law Society supported the SRA and said there was no reason solicitors should be required to demonstrate that they have reached a particular standard of advocacy before appearing in the higher courts. The Society’s consultation paper stated: ‘The duty to act competently is sufficient to ensure that solicitors act responsibly when taking on work.’

The Law Society stressed that guidance should emphasise that pressure must not be put on junior practitioners to do higher court work that they do not feel capable of.

The Solicitors Association of Higher Court Advocates welcomed the relaxation of the rules in principle, but said there should be a mandatory assessment process to ensure a common minimum standard was achieved.