Code of Conduct Self-Employed Barristers

Question 1

401(a): When can a self-employed barrister supply legal services?

Answer 1

A self-employed barrister whether or not he is acting for a fee:

(a) may supply legal services only if appointed by the Court or is instructed:
(i) by a professional client; or
(ii) by a licensed access client, in which case he must comply with the Licensed Access Rules; or
(iii) subject to paragraph 204(c), by or on behalf of any other lay client, in which case he must comply with the Public Access Rules;

Question 2

401(b): What must a self-employed barrister not do in the course of his practice?

Answer 2

A self-employed barrister whether or not he is acting for a fee:

(b) must not in the course of his practice:
(i) undertake the management administration or general conduct of a lay client’s affairs;
(ii) conduct litigation or inter-partes work (for example the conduct of correspondence with an opposite party, instructing any expert witness or other person on behalf of his lay client or accepting personal liability for the payment of any such person);
(iii) investigate or collect evidence for use in any Court;
(iv) except as permitted by paragraph 707, or by the Public Access Rules, take any proof of evidence in any criminal case;
(v) attend at a police station without the presence of a solicitor to advise a suspect or interviewee as to the handling and conduct of police interviews;
(vi) act as a supervisor for the purposes of section 84(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Question 3

401(c): When must a self-employed barrister not supply legal services?

Answer 3

A self-employed barrister whether or not he is acting for a fee:
(c) must not supply legal services for reward otherwise than in the course of his practice except as permitted by paragraph 806.

Question 4

806: When is a barrister employed though he is not in full employment?

Answer 4

A barrister may supply legal services at a Legal Advice Centre on a voluntary or part time basis and, if he does so, shall in connection with the supply of those services be treated for the purpose of this Code as if he were employed by the Legal Advice Centre.

Question 5

402.1: What insurance scheme must self-employed barristers be members of?

Answer 5

Every self-employed barrister (other than a pupil who is covered under his pupilmaster’s insurance) and a barrister called to the Bar under Part IV(E) of the Bar Training Regulations must be entered as a member with BMIF.

Question 6

402.2: What must barristers do as a member of the insurance scheme?

Answer 6

Every barrister entered as a member with BMIF shall:

(a) pay immediately when due the appropriate insurance premium required by BMIF for the purpose of insurance against claims for professional negligence for such amount and upon such terms as may be Approved by the Bar Council from time to time;
(b) supply immediately upon being requested to do so such information as BMIF may from time to time require pursuant to its Rules.

Question 7

403.1: Where from can a self-employed barrister practice?

Answer 7

A self-employed barrister must not practise from the office of or in any unincorporated association (including any arrangement of sharing the practice administration) with any person other than a self- employed barrister or any of the following:
(a) a registered European lawyer;
(b) subject to compliance with the Foreign Lawyers (Chambers) Rules and with the consent of the Bar Council a foreign lawyer;
(c) a non-practising barrister.
(d) a person who is:
(i) a lawyer from a jurisdiction other than England and Wales;
(ii) a retired judge; or
(iii) an employed barrister
to the extent that that person is practising as an arbitrator or mediator.

Question 8

403.2(a): What must a self-employed barrister do in relation to administration of his practice?

Answer 8

A self-employed barrister:

(a) must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:
(i) his practice is efficiently and properly administered having regard to the nature of his practice;
(ii) proper records are kept;
(iii) he complies with the Terms of Work on which Barristers Offer their Services to Solicitors and the Withdrawal of Credit Scheme 1988 as amended and in force from time to time and with any Withdrawal of Credit Direction issued by the Chairman of the Bar pursuant thereto.

Question 9

403.2(b): What is a self-employed barrister’s duty regarding a library?

Answer 9

A self-employed barrister:

(b) must have ready access to library facilities which are adequate having regard to the nature of his practice;

Question 10

403.2(c): What must a self-employed barrister have regard to as far as administration, employment and training?

Answer 10

A self-employed barrister:

(c) must have regard to any relevant guidance issued by the Bar Council including guidance as to:
(i) the administration of chambers;
(ii) pupillage and further training; and
(iii) good equal opportunities practice in chambers in the form of the Equality and Diversity Code for the Bar;

Question 11

403.2(d): What type of complaints procedure must a self-employed barrister have?

Answer 11

A self-employed barrister:
(d)
(i) must deal with all complaints made to him promptly, courteously and in a manner which addresses the issues raised; and
(ii) must have and comply with an appropriate written complaints procedure and make copies of the procedure available to a client on
request; and
(iii) meet all the requirements set out in Annexe S to the Code.

Question 12

404.1: Who are the heads of chambers?

Answer 12

(a) any barrister who is head of chambers;
(b) any barrister who is responsible in whole or in part for the administration of chambers;
(c) if there is no one within (a) and (b) above, all the members of the chambers.

Question 13

404.2(a) and (b): What must heads of chambers ensure relation to administration and conduct?

Answer 13

Any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(a) his chambers are administered competently and efficiently and are properly staffed;
(b) the affairs of his chambers are conducted in a manner which is fair and equitable for all barristers and pupils;

Question 14

402(c): What must heads of chambers ensure regarding pupils and pupillages?

Answer 14

Any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(c) proper arrangements are made in his chambers for dealing with pupils and pupillage and, in particular,
(i) that all pupillage vacancies are advertised in the manner prescribed by the Bar Council;
(ii) that such arrangements are made for the funding of pupils by chambers as the Bar Council may by resolution from time to time require;
(iii) that in making arrangements for pupillage, regard is had to the pupillage guidelines issued from time to time by the Bar Council and to the Equality and Diversity Code for the Bar;

Question 15

402(d): What responsibility do the head of chambers have regarding equal opportunity?

Answer 15

Any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(d) proper arrangements are made in chambers for dealing with equal opportunity issues and in particular,
(i) that Chambers appoint at least one Equal Opportunities Officer;
(ii) that Chambers shall have a written Equal Opportunities Policy made available to all members of Chambers and Staff and to the Bar Council when required, which shall set out the policy adopted by Chambers in relation to each of the Action Areas in the Equality and Diversity Code for the Bar and shall have regard to the recommendations in the Code;
(iii) that no barrister shall take pupils until the steps set out in (i) and (ii) above have been complied with.

Question 16

402(e) and (f): What must heads of chambers do in regard to insurance and credit?

Answer 16

Any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(e) all barristers practising from his chambers whether they are members of the chambers or not are entered as members with BMIF and have effected insurance in accordance with paragraph 402 (other than any pupil who is covered under his pupil-master’s insurance);
(f) all barristers practising from his chambers comply with paragraph 403.2(a)(iii);

Question 17

402(g) and (h): What must heads of chambers ensure in regards staff and employees, including foreign lawyers?

Answer 17

Any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(g) all employees and staff in his chambers (i) are competent to carry out their duties, (ii) carry out their duties in a correct and efficient manner, (iii) are made clearly aware of such provisions of this Code as may affect or be relevant to the performance of their duties and (iv) all complaints against them are dealt with in the manner set out in paragraph 403.2(d) (i)–(iii) above;
(h) all registered European lawyers and all foreign lawyers in his chambers comply with this Code to the extent required by the Registered European Lawyers Rules and the Foreign Lawyers (Chambers) Rules;

Question 18

402(i) and (j): What must a head of chambers ensure regarding fee notes and practicing certificates?

Answer 18

Any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must take all reasonable steps to ensure that:

(i) fee notes in respect of all work undertaken by all members of chambers and pupils and (unless expressly agreed with the individual) former members and pupils of chambers are sent expeditiously to clients and in the event of non-payment within a reasonable time, pursued efficiently;
(j) every barrister practising from his chambers has a current practising certificate in accordance with paragraph 202(c) of the Code of Conduct and the Practising certificate Regulations.

Question 19

404.3: What must heads of chambers have regard to in relation to administration, pupillage and equal opportunity?

Answer 19

In carrying out the obligations referred to in paragraph 404.2 any person referred to in paragraph 404.1 must have regard to any relevant guidance issued by the Bar Council including guidance as to:

(a) the administration of chambers;
(b) pupillage and further training; and
(c) good equal opportunities practice in chambers in the form of the Equality and Diversity Code for the Bar.

Question 20

405: What can a self-employed barrister charged for and on what basis/method?

Answer 20

Subject to paragraph 307 a self-employed barrister may charge for any work undertaken by him (whether or not it involves an appearance in Court) on any basis or by any method he thinks fit provided that such basis or method:

(a) is permitted by law;
(b) does not involve the payment of a wage or salary.

Question 21

406.1: What mast a barrister do if they receive another barrister’s fees?

Answer 21

A self-employed barrister who receives fees in respect of work done by another barrister must himself and without delegating the responsibility to anyone else pay forthwith the whole of the fee in respect of that work to that other barrister.

Question 22

406.2: What must a barrister do in relation to another barrister who does work for them?

Answer 22

Subject to paragraph 805 a self-employed barrister who arranges for another barrister to undertake work for him (other than a pupil or a person who has asked to do the work in order to increase his own skill or experience) must himself and without delegating the responsibility to anyone else:
(a) pay proper financial remuneration for the work done;
(b) make payment within a reasonable time and in any event within three months after the work has been done unless otherwise agreed in advance
with the other person.

Question 23

805: What must a barrister pay a pupil?

Answer 23

Except where a pupil is in receipt of an award or remuneration which is paid on terms that it is in lieu of payment for any individual item of work, a barrister must pay any pupil (or in the case of an employed barrister ensure that a pupil is paid) for any work done for him which because of its value to him warrants payment.

Question 24

407: What is a barrister’s duty in relation to client assets?

Answer 24

A self employed barrister must not receive or handle client money securities or other assets other than by receiving payment of remuneration.