Barristers: Like solicitors, the barristers' profession was criticised for monopolising entry to the profession through the King's Inns.
Indecon criticised the fact that the King's Inns own conversion legal diploma course is required for entry to the King's Inns degree course for non-law graduates and that only the King's Inns can provide the BL degree required to practise as a barrister.
The apparent operation of a cap on the numbers taken in every year artificially restricts the numbers entering the profession, it said. They envisaged a licensing system for other institutions to provide the BL degree, similar to the proposal made for the Law Society.
Indecon pointed out that other institutions provide conversion diplomas like the King's Inns one, and advocated relaxing the requirement that only its diploma was acceptable.
It said that the absence of payment for those operating as pupils or "devils" significantly increased the cost of becoming a barrister.
One of the most contentious issues is likely to be the suggestion that clients should have direct access to barristers, rather than have to first engage a solicitor. The Bar Council has responded by stating that solicitors are best informed to choose the correct barrister for a job, and pointed out that a recent OECD report did not find this restrictive.
Indecon would also like to see more solicitors appearing in the higher courts, and suggested that the reason why they do not might be because the judges there have previously always been drawn from the Bar.
The consultants were highly critical of the fact that fully qualified barristers who are in employment cannot represent their employers in court. As with solicitors, Indecon suggested that barristers be allowed work in partnerships or multi-disciplinary practices.
The Bar Council said that, where a person's liberty and rights could be on the line, these were best protected by barristers operating as an independent body of sole practitioners. It also regretted that pro-competitive aspects of the operation of the Bar were ignored.
