The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has given the go-ahead for barristers to work in new business structures set out in the Legal Services Act (LSA).

After a long period of deliberation, the BSB announced today (20 November) that members of the Bar will be permitted to enter into Legal Disciplinary Partnerships (LDPs) without having to requalify as a solicitor.

However, the BSB is discouraging barristers from taking a shareholding in LDPs until specific guidance on conflicts has been established.

The decision will also permit barristers to enter into 'barrister only practices' which will see barristers form partnerships with risk spread across all members in the entity. Currently, barristers practising in chambers are self-employed.

However, the BSB has made no decision as yet on whether members of the Bar will be allowed to enter into Alternative Business Structures (ABS) – which are set to come into force in mid-2011 – and is planning a further consultation on this next year.

The consultation will look at whether the cab-rank rule – which requires barristers to accept cases brought to them – can be modified to apply to barristers practising as mangers of LDPs.

BSB chair Baroness Deech said: "The Board's decision today is of considerable significance for the future of legal services provision in England and Wales. It represents the culmination of more than two years' careful consideration of the issues, guided by the overriding concern to regulate in the public interest."

She added: "This has been a difficult undertaking. We know that feelings and opinions are very strongly held on all sides of this debate. As a responsible regulator we have balanced the views and come to conclusions, giving living effect to the regulatory objectives of the LSA and just as importantly, to the spirit they embody."

Nicholas Green QC, chairman-elect of the Bar Council said: "The Bar Council very much welcomes these changes. The BSB's decisions represent an historic moment for the Bar."

LDPs form a key plank of the LSA and allow firms to add non-lawyers to their partnerships, up to a cap of 25% of total partner count.

LDPs have been permissible since March this year, although the BSB has, until now, made no decision on whether barristers may join this new structure. The decision follows three consultations after the formation of a working group in 2007 to look into various aspects of the impact of the LSA.

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