The Bar Standards Board has scrapped plans to impose a new diversity and inclusion duty on the profession. The Law Society Gazettehas the details:
The Bar Standards Board said today that following feedback, the proposal for a core duty to “act in a way that advances equality, diversity and inclusion” will not be taken forward.
"Recent proposals to force barristers to 'advance' EDI would be an absolute nightmare. Will we be told we can't represent Right-wingers or gender-critical women? A lawyer's duty is to the court and their client – not any ideology."@SVPhillimore on the Sceptic.
The BSB Handbook states that barristers “must not discriminate unlawfully”, but regulators wanted to bring the duty into line with that of the solicitors’ profession. But the proposals triggered a backlash from representative body the Bar Council, which warned that such a duty would be counter-productive and “probably unlawful”. …
The BSB consulted last September on how best to promote equality of opportunity in the profession. It said there were barriers to entry, retention and progression for women, minority ethnic groups and people with a disability who are all underrepresented at the bar. Female and minority ethnic barristers also earn less on average than their white male counterparts.
But the proposed core duty to advance equality, diversity and inclusion attracted criticism for being too prescriptive and creating uncertainty about what constitutes advancement of equality.
The BSB admitted that responses to its consultation provided an opportunity to “reflect on our objectives and how best to achieve them in the most proportionate manner”. It pledged to work “collaboratively” in future with the profession to address barriers to equality.
Significant progress, it concluded, can be achieved within the existing framework and by setting expectations for the next five years. The BSB will publish a plan for monitoring progress and evaluating impact, with a commitment to revisit rules and guidance where necessary.
🚨 FREE SPEECH VICTORY! We’re delighted the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has dropped its proposal to impose a duty on barristers to “promote” equality, diversity and inclusion.
The FSU wasn’t the only organisation to raise concerns, but we played a central role. We wrote to the BSB… pic.twitter.com/MP9WaikbsQ
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) May 27, 2025
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