Obiter has attended a few Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearings. However, only last week did we discover where allegedly misbehaving barristers are sent, when Lord Keen QC faced charges of professional misconduct (he was cleared).
Tucked away in a leafy corner of Gray’s Inn, the bar’s tribunal suite is somewhat prettier than the SDT, which – if you’ve never had the pleasure of visiting – is sandwiched between four lanes of traffic and an Evans Cycles shop.
On arrival, visitors are offered tea and biscuits and ushered into a thickly carpeted room overlooking Gray’s Inn Square. The atmosphere is that of a particularly genteel Oxbridge college, quite a contrast to the SDT’s doctor’s waiting-room aesthetic.
While the tribunal room itself was a bit too cosy – barristers practically have to climb over the public to appear before the panel – Obiter thoroughly approved of the setup. The SDT could learn a thing or two from it.
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