Helplines

If you need support, please find more information on our Personal support page.

Ethical Enquiries service

The Bar Council provides a confidential Ethical Enquiries Service to assist barristers (and, where appropriate, their clerks and other staff connected with barristers' professional practices) to identify, interpret and comply with their professional obligations under the BSB Handbook. Please note: this service does not give legal advice. 

Call the Ethical Enquiries line on 020 7611 1307

Lines are open 09:15-17:15 Monday-Friday. 

Email [email protected]

You will receive a response within four working days.

The Bar Council also publishes documents on its Ethics & Practice Hub which is intended to assist barristers on matters of conduct and ethics in particular types of situation.  

Please note the limitations of the service as set out below. 

Where possible, the Bar Council encourages members of the Bar to talk ethical issues through with peers and senior practitioners before using the service. 

 

Equality and Diversity helpline

The Bar Council offers a confidential equality and diversity helpline for pupils and members of the Bar, as well as chambers.

Email [email protected]

Your emails will be responded to within one working day and you can also request a call back (if so please provide a number). You do not need to disclose your name.

Our team can provide assistance on the following topics:

For individuals, we can provide confidential support and advice to members of the profession, staff and members of chambers, employed barristers, pupils and Bar students about any equality and diversity, parental leave or  bullying and harassment issue (you can also use Talk to Spot to record incidents of bullying and harassment and access our help).

For chambers, we can provide advice on:

  1. Implementing all aspects of the Equality and Diversity Rules in the BSB Handbook.
  2. Making reasonable adjustments and making chambers and services accessible to people with disabilities.
  3. Handling complaints and supporting members and staff. 

What happens when you contact us?

Your email will be read by a member of the Bar Council's Equality and Diversity team. All content will be treated in confidence. You are not required to give your name or the name of your chambers. They will respond by email or call if requested within one working day.

If you would like additional support, you will be put in touch with a member of our Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee. 

Any barrister member of the committee you speak to has a special exemption from BSB reporting requirements and is able to provide advice without being required to report the incident to the BSB.  

Please note that we are unable to provide legal advice.

As an alternative, you can also call the generic Ethical Enquiries line on 020 7611 1307. Lines are open 09:15-17:15, Monday-Friday. 

Please explain you have an equality and diversity query and ask to be put through to a member of the Equality and Diversity team (or request a call back from the team). 

Pupils' helpline

The Pupils' Helpline gives confidential advice and support to members of the Bar who are currently undertaking their pupillage by putting them in touch with an experienced and independent barrister who can help with problems encountered during pupillage.

To access the helpline, call 020 7611 1415 or email [email protected].
In many cases, pupils will be able to obtain appropriate advice and support from their pupil supervisor and/or chambers. The Inns' Education and Training Departments can often also help. However, there will be occasions when pupils may prefer to discuss their concern with a member of the Bar who is unconnected with their chambers.

For this reason, the Bar Council has established a panel of advisers to offer pupils a confidential and objective advice service. All of the advisers are barristers of at least five years' call who have received training from the Bar Council. Contact can be made, anonymously if wished, by email or telephone.

The Bar Council will put pupils who wish to discuss a problem in confidence in contact with an appropriate adviser.
Talk to Spot
The online tool for the Bar to confidentially report inappropriate behaviour

There is no place for bullying, harassment or discrimination at the Bar, and yet many incidents still go unreported and unchallenged. To address this problem, the Bar Council is working with Spot, an online tool for confidentially reporting instances of bullying, harassment and discrimination, to give the profession a secure, constructive process for dealing with such behaviour. The Spot tool allows you to record and (if required) report inappropriate behaviour, bullying, harassment and discrimination.