Former women and equalities minister joins bar as commissioner for conduct

The Bar Council has appointed its first commissioner for conduct following a recommendation by Baroness Harman (Harriet Harman KC) in her independent review of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment in and around the bar.

Dame Maria Miller, chair of domestic abuse charity SafeLives, will begin her role as commissioner for conduct role this month. She will be responsible for promoting a ‘safe, respectful and professional culture at the bar’.

Harman’s review, published last September, made 36 recommendations including the appointment of a commissioner to ‘drive cultural and organisational change’.

Miller’s responsibilities include handling bullying, harassment and sexual harassment reports in line with an agreed protocol with the Bar Standards Boards, as well as liaising with the judiciary and Judicial Conduct Investigations Office and providing confidential support. The commissioner role is operationally independent but occupies the same level of seniority as the chair, vice chair and treasurer of the council, as recommended by Harman.

She said she was ‘honoured’ to be taking on the role - through which the Bar Council ‘has demonstrated its fulsome commitment to…promoting a safe, respectful and professional culture.

Bar chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said Miller, a former chair of the women and equalities committee, would provide ‘authoritative guidance and be a trusted point of contact’ for those working in and around the bar. She added: ‘There is no place for bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar and with Dame Maria overseeing this work, I am determined that we can stamp out these behaviours.’

Harman said: ‘I have full confidence that Dame Maria will lead the reform needed, having been a driving force in tackling the same issues in the House of Commons. This role is key to leading the change necessary to prevent misconduct and protect victims and the reputation of the Bar. Improving behaviour will no longer rest on the slight shoulders of the victims of misconduct.’

The bar has been steadily implementing the review’s recommendations including a new steering group, introduced last winter, which has been tasked with developing a protocol for reporting bullying and harassment. The group includes Mills and chair of the Bar Standards Board Chris Bones as well as board members, senior barristers and staff members representing both organisations.