*/
Barristers earning more than £500,000 face increased practising certificate fees.
At present, fees are set according to six bands, with the highest for those earning £240,000 or more set at £1,850. In a consultation paper, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and Bar Council laid out plans for two more grades.
Those earning more than £500,000 will pay £2,500 and those earning more than £1m will pay £3,000. Those earning £30,000 or less will see their fee reduced from £123 to £100. Fees for the other pay bands will remain unchanged.
The consultation estimated it will bring in an extra £497,000 from those in Band 7 and £382,000 from those in Band 8, on the basis that nearly 130 barristers earn more than £1m a year and about 200 take home more than £500,000.
It stated that the proposals are ‘not an attempt at redistribution of wealth’ but a recognition of the ‘increasing gap in earnings across the Bar’.
The plans will be brought to the joint Bar Council and BSB Finance Committee for review and approval in February 2019.
The BSB also published rules allowing it to close barristers’ practices, after it was given the statutory power to intervene.
Director of Strategy and Policy, Ewen Macleod, said the BSB expected to use the powers ‘very infrequently and only in the rarest of situations’ where intervening is the only way to safeguard clients’ interests.
Barristers earning more than £500,000 face increased practising certificate fees.
At present, fees are set according to six bands, with the highest for those earning £240,000 or more set at £1,850. In a consultation paper, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and Bar Council laid out plans for two more grades.
Those earning more than £500,000 will pay £2,500 and those earning more than £1m will pay £3,000. Those earning £30,000 or less will see their fee reduced from £123 to £100. Fees for the other pay bands will remain unchanged.
The consultation estimated it will bring in an extra £497,000 from those in Band 7 and £382,000 from those in Band 8, on the basis that nearly 130 barristers earn more than £1m a year and about 200 take home more than £500,000.
It stated that the proposals are ‘not an attempt at redistribution of wealth’ but a recognition of the ‘increasing gap in earnings across the Bar’.
The plans will be brought to the joint Bar Council and BSB Finance Committee for review and approval in February 2019.
The BSB also published rules allowing it to close barristers’ practices, after it was given the statutory power to intervene.
Director of Strategy and Policy, Ewen Macleod, said the BSB expected to use the powers ‘very infrequently and only in the rarest of situations’ where intervening is the only way to safeguard clients’ interests.
Chair of the Bar sets out a busy calendar for the rest of the year
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Examined by Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
Time is precious for barristers. Every moment spent chasing paperwork, organising diaries, or managing admin is time taken away from what matters most: preparation, advocacy and your clients. That’s where Eden Assistants step in
AlphaBiolabs has announced its latest Giving Back donation to RAY Ceredigion, a grassroots West Wales charity that provides play, learning and community opportunities for families across Ceredigion County
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, outlines why barristers, solicitors, judges, social workers and local authorities across the UK trust AlphaBiolabs for court-admissible testing
Through small but meaningful efforts, we can restore the sense of collegiality that has been so sorely eroded, says Baldip Singh
Come in with your eyes open, but don’t let fear cloud the prospect. A view from practice by John Dove
Looking to develop a specialist practice? Mariya Peykova discusses the benefits of secondments and her placement at the Information Commissioner’s Office
Anon Academic explains why he’s leaving the world of English literature for the Bar – after all, the two are not as far apart as they may first seem...
Review by Stephen Cragg KC
