Strongly discouraged but currently no regulatory prohibition
An independent review has called for a new rule to make it “serious misconduct” for barristers, clerks or chambers’ staff to have sexual relationships with pupils and mini-pupils, in a bid to tackle abuse of power at the bar.
The landmark report, led by Baroness Harriet Harman KC, warns that aspiring barristers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation during the year-long pupillage stage, given the influence chambers hold over tenancy decisions.
“Sexual relationships between pupils and members of chambers or clerks/staff with influence over their careers should be prohibited for the duration of pupillage. This would make it serious misconduct for a barrister, clerk, or chambers’ employee to have a sexual relationship with a pupil, mini-pupil, or anyone undertaking work experience in that chambers,” the report states.
Currently, there is no regulatory prohibition on sexual relationships between pupils and members of chambers or clerks with influence over their careers. The current guidance strongly discourages such relationships due to the obvious risks of coercion and conflicts of interest, but they are not explicitly banned. As a result, the issue is usually left to chambers’ discretion, with policies and enforcement varying widely across the profession.
The prohibition is among a wide-ranging set of recommendations in the Independent Review of Bullying, Harassment and Sexual Harassment at the Bar, published this morning.
Other proposals include:
• A new Commissioner for Conduct to oversee standards across the bar and judiciary.
Making training on bullying and harassment mandatory for all students, barristers, chambers’ employees and Inns staff every three years.
• Requiring chambers to adopt anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies, with consistent procedures for handling complaints.
• Introducing tougher sanctions, with the report stressing that bullying, harassment and sexual harassment should be “career-limiting or career-ending”.
• Extending reforms to cover judicial bullying, with calls for greater accountability in courtrooms, abolition of the JCIO’s three-month complaint time limit, and the use of court recordings to support complaints.
Launching the report, Harman KC said the bar must take action now. “Strong sanctions are needed to send the message that things are going to change, that serious misconduct will not be met with a quiet word or a brief suspension but will be career-limiting or career-ending,” she said.
The review concludes that only radical change will end what it describes as a “culture of denial” at the top of the profession.
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