The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has embarked on an ambitious three-year project to rewrite the Bar's rulebook for the first time.

The project was kicked off today (12 June) with the publication of a consultation paper that calls for views on how the Bar's Code of Conduct should be updated in the light of the Legal Services Bill and claims by the Office of Fair Trading that parts of the code may be anti-competitive.

Up for review will be a host of restrictions covering what barristers can and cannot do, including the 'cab rank' rule, which is designed to prevent barristers from turning down unpalatable cases, and the ban on barristers forming partnerships either with themselves or other professionals.

Also highlighted for scrutiny are the barrister's duties to the court, the rules governing complaints and disciplinary action and the heavy restrictions currently imposed on barristers wishing to comment publicly on cases.

The launch of the review comes a year after the BSB was established as part of the Bar Council's efforts to anticipate the Legal Services Bill, which contains provisions requiring the professional bodies to ringfence their regulatory arms.

Commenting on the move, BSB director Mark Stobbs said: "It is now a year into the board's work. We need to take a proper look at whether the code is fit for purpose and up to date. We want to check there is a good reason for each rule, to see whether each rule is proportionate and to see whether they are based on evidence."

Once the responses to the general consultation have been received, the BSB will launch a series of investigations into different aspects of the rulebook, with the regulation of alternative business structures at the front of the queue. The BSB envisages holding the first in-depth consultation on this area towards the end of the year, with any decisions on changes to be made in the second or third quarter of 2008.

Changes to the code will be introduced in tranches.

In a separate move, the BSB has published its annual report for 2006, covering the first year of its establishment. Since 2005, the total cost of regulation has risen by almost half a million pounds to £3,480,690 from £3,051,243. The body attributes this for the most part to increased staff costs and loss of economies of scale.

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