Bar Council to launch account for holding client money

The Bar Council is to launch a third party escrow account that can hold client money, a move its chairman described as one of the most important developments in the legal services sector since the Legal Services Act came into force.

The Bar Council said the account – dubbed 'BARCO' – would allow barristers to “offer a full range of legal services without breaching the Code of Conduct and handling client money themselves”.

The service – understood to be operated by Barclays – will be launched formally in Spring 2013, after a pilot phase and a roadshow of the Bar.

An application is being prepared for BARCO to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The service will comply with the regulatory obligations arising out of the Payment Services Regulations 2009.

BARCO also remains subject to any approval process arising from the new Bar Standards Board Handbook.

Michael Todd QC, Chairman of the Bar, said: “I am delighted to be launching BARCO which, we believe, will be one of the most important developments in the legal services sector since the Legal Services Act came into force.
 
“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.”

Todd argued that BARCO put 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”.

He added: “BARCO is more than simply a bank account. It provides clients with the facility seamlessly to access the full range of the Bar’s high quality services, and it enables the Bar to change its business without changing the way it does business.”