The Bar Standards Board (BSB) is gearing up to allow barristers to form partnerships from autumn next year, with alternative business structures (ABSs) set to come into effect for the profession in 2014.

The moves were discussed at a BSB board meeting last week, with the regulator approving plans to introduce entity regulation for barrister only partnerships and legal disciplinary partnerships (LDPs), which are likely to take effect from next autumn.

Although the ability to create ABSs and LDPs came into force with the Legal Services Act 2007, the issue of how they were to be regulated at the Bar had remained unresolved until now.

As part of the agreed changes, the BSB will apply to the Legal Services Board (LSB) in the New Year to become a licensing authority for ABSs. The LSB has up to one year to decide whether to grant the BSB approval to become a licensing body, with the first licences expected to be approved in 2014.

The news comes as the BSB has been making changes to its handbook, including the barristers' code of conduct, with an amendment to allow barristers to conduct litigation among the alterations.

The BSB has also been in the process of introducing a formal contract between barristers and solicitors for referral work to be known as the Standard Contractual Terms (SCT).

Use of the contract will be optional, with chambers also permitted to draw up their own contracts, however the SCT will take precedence if a solicitor does not want to agree to a set's bespoke terms.

The SCT will include the cab rank rule- a rule forcing barristers to accept a referral unless there is a conflict of interest or they are not available. Previously, the cab rank rule did not apply when instructions were made on a contractual basis.

The implementation of the revised SCT has been delayed from 31 October 2012 until 31 January next year.

The regulatory body expects the new handbook and code of conduct to be finalised with approval from the LSB by next summer.

Related: