No bar for bogus barristers

LOOPHOLE: solicitor reports dealings with fake barrister and is told nothing can be done

A Newcastle solicitor has called for a government crackdown on false barristers after she had a run-in with a bogus counsel conducting a race discrimination case.

Emma Cross, an employment solicitor at law firm Crutes, became suspicious when she discovered that her opponent was employed by a limited company.

It emerged that he was not a qualified lawyer and was impersonating a barrister.

However, when Ms Cross contacted the Bar Council it told her there was nothing it could do because although impersonating a solicitor is an offence, pretending to be a barrister is not, as long as the impostor is not exercising rights of audience.

In this case the claim was being heard in a tribunal and was therefore exempt from requiring such rights.

A query to the Law Society also revealed that there was no compulsion to stop dealing with the matter, report it or inform the client.

Ms Cross said it was not the first time she had encountered dubious counsel, and called on the government to pass stricter laws to prevent the situation from escalating.

'The danger is that members of the public unwittingly believe that these fake barristers are legally qualified and covered by professional indemnity insurance, but if something goes wrong due to poor legal advice or representation they will not be able to compensate the client,' she said.

'It is a worrying loophole.

Parliament should be looking at this matter, as I can see no reason why barristers should not be subject to similar provisions as solicitors.'

Both the Bar Council and the Law Society confirmed that their hands were tied in such a situation.

A council spokeswoman added: 'We do not have the same powers as the Law Society, so if someone lets us know that a person is pretending to be a barrister, all we can do is pass that information on to the police'.

A spokeswoman for the Lord Chancellor's Department said solicitors offer a wider range of services to the public and often handle large sums of clients' money.

'We are aware there are specific provisions in the Solicitors Act which make it an offence for unqualified persons to act as solicitors and that similar arrangements do not exist in respect of barristers,' she added.

'However, any instances of unqualified persons acting as either solicitors or barristers are matters for the police to investigate.'

Paula Rohan