The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today launched a public consultation on new rules to promote equality, diversity and inclusion at the Bar. Despite improvements in diversity in recent years, there remain significant challenges for the Bar in promoting access to the profession, in retaining qualified practitioners and in addressing bullying, discrimination and harassment. The regulator is therefore asking for a further step change in the profession’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The consultation document seeks views on a number of proposals. In particular, a change to Core Duty 8 would place a positive obligation on barristers to “act in a way that advances equality, diversity, and inclusion” when providing legal services, The BSB also proposes to take a more outcomes focused approach to these equality rules, but to retain prescriptive requirements where necessary for transparency and accountability. These proposals have been informed by engagement activities with the profession, the Inns, the BSB Race Equality, Disability, and Religion and Belief Task Forces, as well as through research and data on the current inequalities within the profession and the extent to which the current rules have had an impact on tackling inequalities.

In addition to the wider public consultation on these proposed changes, the BSB plans to engage separately with those stakeholders who are likely to be impacted by these proposals through a series of targeted engagement sessions, including, for example the Inns of Court and Circuits across England and Wales, the specialist Bar Associations, and equalities groups who represent those who face barriers at the Bar. The public consultation will be open until 5PM on Friday 29 November and you can access the full consultation document here and you can respond to the consultation questions here.

Commenting on the launch of the consultation, BSB Director General Mark Neale said:

“We want to ensure that the Bar is as inclusive as possible and that it is truly representative of the society it serves. Regulation alone cannot achieve that, but regulation can help by supporting barristers to challenge practices which work against diversity and inclusion.  We hope that you will take this opportunity to share your views with us, so we can ensure our proposals are fully informed by your experience.”