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Bring on the gowns: Mark Stobbs on the work of the Bar Standards Board (BSB)

This episode of the Law Report focuses on the role and remit of the Bar Standards Board (BSB). This is an update level course.



The BSB regulates barristers in England and Wales. It’s purpose is to promote and maintain excellence in the quality of legal services provided by barristers and to support the rule of law. It does this by setting standards of entry to the profession and by ensuring that professional practice puts consumers first.

The BSB was set up in January 2006 when the Bar Council separated its regulatory and representative functions. This was in response to the recommendations in the independent review of the regulation of the legal professions by Sir David Clementi in 2004.

The information in this podcast represented the legal position when it was recorded on 17/10/2007

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Your Account
Aims and Outcomes

This podcast explores in detail the BSB’s strategies and priorities, how it regulates the barristers’ profession and provides some insight into current issues.

It will be useful for any legal professional wanting to understand more about the regulation of barristers, how this will be affected by government reforms and any likely impact on solicitors.

The interview lasts for 32 minutes. It will take you a further 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. You will need to get 50 per cent of the questions right to gain your CPD.

Learning outcomes

After listening to the interview, you will understand:

  • The powers and funding of the BSB and the relationship between it and the new Legal Services Board
  • How the BSB works with the Bar Council and other legal regulators and representative bodies
  • How regulation might change with the introduction of alternative business structures
  • What the BSB is doing to help improve the reputation of barristers
  • How the BSB investigates misconduct issues
  • What the BSB is doing to improve consumer protection
  • Movement between the solicitors’ and barristers’ professions
Mark Stobbs
Mark Stobbs

Mark Stobbs was educated at the Newcastle Royal Grammar School and Pembroke College Oxford. Between 1985 and 1993 he was a civil servant in the then Lord Chancellor’s Department and worked on policy towards the legal profession, including legislation governing rights of audience and the establishment of the Legal Services Ombudsman and the Child Support Act 1991.

He joined the Bar Council in 1993 and worked in the complaints and standards sections. He became Head of Professional Standards and Legal Services in January 1998. This role combined regulatory and representative responsibilities and between then and 2006, he worked on various reforms to the Bar Council’s complaints system, the reforms permitting greater public access to barristers, the development of the Code of Conduct and the BarMark system. He managed the Council’s responses to the Access to Justice Act 1999, the OFT report on competition in professions and the Clementi review.

He was closely involved with the development of the Bar Standards Board and became the full-time Director of the Board in July 2006.

He is a member of the International Editorial Board of the journal, Legal Ethics and, in 2002, conducted a study of the regulatory system for the Law Society of Kenya.