Bar Standards Board

Bar Standards Board

Bar Standards Board (City of London) Headquarters of the Bar Standards Board within the City of London
Abbreviation	BSB
Formation	January 1, 2006; 19 years ago (2006-01-01)
Headquarters	289–293 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7HZ
Chair	Kathryn Stone
Vice Chair	Andrew Mitchell
Website	www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest.

It is responsible for:

• Setting standards of conduct for barristers and authorising barristers to practise;
• Monitoring the service provided by barristers to assure quality;
• Setting the education and training requirements for becoming a barrister as well as setting continuing training requirements to ensure that barristers’ skills are maintained throughout their careers; and
• Handling complaints against barristers and taking enforcement or other action where appropriate

The BSB's functions were originally carried out by the General Council of the Bar, the barristers' representative body, until 2006 when the Bar Council created the BSB as an independent regulator. The Legal Services Board has once - in 2013 - questioned the independence of the BSB from the Bar Council.^[1]