The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has urged barristers to adopt technology and innovation, warning that the current approach is hindering progress in delivering efficient, client-focused legal services. 

Their new report, Technology and Innovation at the Bar, conducted by Spinnaker Research and Consulting, argues that the Bar’s self-employed and chambers-based model is a key barrier to the widespread adoption of legal technology. This, it said, is not due to a lack of capability or confidence among barristers or regulatory blockages, but because of the structural and cultural characteristics of the Bar’s working model.  

Through interviews with 41 barristers and stakeholders, the report found that ad hoc, isolated technology adoption is the norm, with no coordinated strategy for digital transformation across the profession. 

Chambers’ limited funding, IT capacity, and collective decision-making structures further complicate efforts to invest in or implement new technology solutions. 

One barrister described the Bar’s operational model: 

“We still run ourselves like a golf club, frankly, like an unincorporated association with a committee… big strategic questions that we need to answer [relating to technology] tend to get put on the back burner because everyone’s busy.” 

Another interviewee pointed out the lack of technological literacy among some decision-makers at the Bar: 

“The people who have to make the decisions lack the knowledge and insight to be able to make those decisions, because they’re barristers.” 

The report notes that barristers, who often deal with heavy caseloads, frequently view innovation as non-billable and not client-facing, leading to low prioritisation of technology and investment in the project. 

Additionally, the research found little external pressure from clients, solicitors, the courts or the judiciary to modernise, further dampening incentives to change some outdated workflows. 

However, Spinnaker identified a growing recognition among barristers of the benefits that technology can bring, particularly in streamlining tasks such as time recording, billing, client onboarding, compliance questionnaires, evidence reviews, and chronology creation.  

Cautious experimentation with AI tools was conducted, focusing on drafting documents, transcription, note-taking, and utilising systems such as Lexis+ AI for legal research. 

What is the BSB’s role in this? 

The BSB asserts that it has an important leadership role in catalysing change, including: 

• Encouraging greater standardisation and collaboration across the Bar and with technology providers, clients, and law firms. 
• Exploring initiatives such as innovation hubs, tech incubators and regulatory sandboxes, drawing inspiration from other jurisdictions like Singapore and Paris. 
• Promoting conversation between barristers and technologists, thereby facilitating the development of new tools 
• Embedding technology training within professional development pathways, ensuring barristers are equipped to deal with digital transformation confidently. 

Crucially, the report warned that the current lack of a clear framework to scale individual success into the broader systemic practices is limiting the Bar’s ability to modernise.  

BSB Director General, Mark Neale stressed the urgency of collaborative action, stating: 

“Technology is developing quickly, and we need to help the profession to adapt to the risks and opportunities that this brings.” 

In response to the report, the BSB and the Bar Council have agreed to form a joint working group to share information and explore joint strategies to support the safe and effective adoption of technology at the Bar.