Bar Standards Board Chair and Vice-Chair to step down

The Bar Standards Board today announced that its current Chair and Vice-Chair are to step down at the end of their terms of office on 31 December 2008.

Ruth Evans and George Leggatt QC were appointed as the inaugural leadership of the Bar Standards Board by the Bar Council in 2005 to establish and lead the start up of the new regulatory body.

The Bar Standards Board was established in January 2006 to regulate barristers called to the Bar in England and Wales in the public interest. It took over the regulatory functions of the Bar Council at that time.

Speaking on behalf of the Board today, Christopher Graham, one of seven lay members of the Board, expressed the Board's sincere appreciation of the pair's strong leadership: Ruth and George have been instrumental during their three years at the helm of the BSB in building a new, modern and effective regulatory body to oversee practice at the Bar.

"Their pioneering partnership has been illustrative of the Board's way of working - combining the skills and knowledge of the very best at the Bar with the broad experience and expertise of lay members."

Echoing these comments, Sue Carr QC, Chair of the Complaints Committee and one of eight barrister Board members added: "The challenges faced in establishing the Bar Standards Board have been more than met and we are now entering a new era. The market for legal services is changing as we see the implications of the Legal Services Act start to emerge. As a result of the clear strategic framework that Ruth, George and the Board have jointly established, we are well-prepared to meet the challenges ahead."

The process to appoint their successors is due to begin shortly, with advertisements appearing in the weekend press.