Bar lifted on litigation

AUTHORISATION: Bar Council grants first ten barristers equal litigation rights to solicitors

The first ten barristers to be given the same right as solicitors to conduct litigation have been approved by the Bar Council.

At its meeting last week, the barristers - employed by law firms or in business - who had demonstrated their ability to litigate, were authorised to do so to the same extent as a solicitor with the exception of handling clients' money.

To qualify for authorisation, a barrister must undergo three months of supervised practice with a six-year qualified litigation solicitor or have worked in-house for at least a year.

A Bar Council spokesman said: 'We have made it clear since the Access to Justice Act 1999 that we believe employed barristers should have access to the same rights as their solicitor peers and there has been a rule change to allow this.

'However, this doesn't affect barristers in private practice.

We don't think it's appropriate for them to litigate - if they want to they should re-qualify as solicitors.'

One of the ten, Rupert Butler, a defamation specialist at London media firm David Price, applied for litigation rights because 'the future of the profession is going to be fusion'.

'I am now a one-stop shop for clients, in that I can be instructed by them and then proceed to offer representation in court,' he said.

'The sooner these rules apply to barristers in private practice, the better it will be, as it would allow barristers to form partnerships with each other and other professions, which would be of huge benefit to the public.'

A Law Society spokeswoman said: 'As the process by which employed barristers can be authorised to conduct litigation ensures that they have the proper training and qualifications to do this type of work, there is no reason why these barristers should not conduct litigation where it is practical for them to do so.'

The Bar Council did not name the other nine for privacy reasons.

Andrew Towler