Dear Practitioner, 

On 22 May I attended the Bar Standards Board's roadshow on its proposals to allow barristers to practise in partnership or companies and to conduct litigation. The meeting took place shortly after the launch of  Stobart Barristers which offers "a new way to sort out legal problems" that avoids the intervention of a solicitor. Apparently, If a client proceeds to litigation his or her barrister will be supported with "administration and other backup services".

I am all for removing unnecessary restrictions and encouraging competition but I am not sure that is in our interests - much less the public's - for barristers to practise like solicitors. It is certainly not in our interests to slight those who send us work by implying that their contribution consists of nothing more than administration and backup.   

We are a referral profession and our role is to add value to solicitors' services. In these chambers we do that by:

• offering high quality but affordable specialist advice on intellectual property and technology law and representation before the Patents and Patents County Courts, Chancery Division, Intellectual Property Office and other tribunals;
• supplying speakers for our clients' marketing and training events;
• keeping our clients up to date with the latest developments in IP and technology law;
• introducing our public access clients to solicitors with whom we have worked successfully in the past; and
• providing mediation and arbitration services.