Barristers are facing a major shake-up of their professional standards as the Bar Standards Board (BSB) gears up for a full-scale review of its core code of conduct.

The standards committee, chaired by Brick Court Chambers' Charles Hollander QC, will redraw the Bar's code of conduct from scratch in an attempt to modernise the profession.

Plans were discussed at the committee's last meeting earlier this month (8 March) with the organisation set to decide if current public interest restrictions on conduct are still relevant.

The consultation will look at key modernisation issues such as how alternative business structures – which could allow barristers to team up with other professionals – will affect the way barristers operate.

It will also look at whether existing restrictions on handling client money and direct instructions from the public are still necessary. Rules on the way chambers are managed and run will also be discussed.

Hollander told Legal Week: "At the moment we are still in the early stages, but this will be a major BSB project over the next couple of years."

The review will start with a consultation sent to the profession within the next two months with responses expected by August.

One Essex Court senior clerk Paul Shrubsall said: "From time to time, you need to review whether practices are in line with modern thinking and the current working environment."