English barristers are to be allowed to handle client funds for the first time, following a landmark policy change by the profession’s representative body.

The Bar Council of England and Wales yesterday unveiled plans for its BARCO service, which it claims will provide a ‘straightforward’, ‘easily accessible’ and ‘client focussed’ system for handling client payments, reports Global Legal Post.
Set for formal launch in 2013, the system involves a third-party escrow account to allow barristers to hold client money without breaching their professional conduct rules.

Closer to fusion
Bar Council Chairman, Michael Todd QC, commented: ‘Demand for barristers’ advocacy and advisory services is growing all over the world. Domestic and international clients of all sizes, which regularly turn to the bar, need a trustworthy and transparent vehicle to manage payment of their legal and litigation costs.
‘BARCO puts the bar on a level-playing field, whether through the traditional referral model, offering public access services, or, in the future, structuring itself as an entity.’
The move represents the latest ironing out of the historic split profession in England, sweeping away another defining difference between barristers and solicitors, as the latter have historically been the branch of the legal profession exclusively allowed to hold client funds.