Research will be carried out to understand how solicitors choose barristers and what can be done to ensure clients have as broad a choice as possible.

The Bar Standards Board has outlined plans to look at solicitor instructions as part of its research and evaluation strategy for the next three years. One of the key elements will be access to the most suitable barrister and looking at the pipeline through which consumers are provided their services.

The BSB said its previous research has found that when instructing via a solicitor, clients are often not given a choice of barrister. Further studies will be undertaken to understand how solicitors choose barristers on behalf of clients and whether regulation is needed to ensure greater transparency or choice.

The strategy paper said: ‘Our evidence to date suggests that when individuals and businesses are referred to barristers by solicitors or other legal professionals, they are often offered no choice. We will gather evidence from solicitors as to what factors influence their choice of barrister, and/or the extent to which they offer their clients more than one recommendation, or indeed to what extent they take into account a client’s views when choosing a barrister.’

In line with other legal regulators, the BSB says there is a wider need to promote understanding of legal services and provide information to help consumers make an informed choice.

Although there is now greater price transparency, the regulator says, individuals and businesses with legal problems usually have a poor understanding of their legal rights and duties, and of the full range of services offered by barristers, particularly the scope to access barristers’ services directly and the potential to unbundle services.

The BSB will continue to look at transparency rules around costs and service levels and explore the merits of digital comparison tools. Renewed focus will also be placed on the gaps pertaining to the views of small business clients, where research work has to date focused more on individual clients of the bar.

Separately, the BSB will undertake a full review of its current governance arrangements. The board may look to incorporate itself as a separate legal entity from the Bar Council in order to increase transparency, accountability and operational freedom.

 

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