The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for

barristers in England and Wales Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecuti ...

. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the "approved regulator" of barristers, but delegates its regulatory function to the independent

Bar Standards Board The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest. It is responsible for: * Setting standards of conduct for barristers and authorising barristers to practise; * Monitoring the service provided by barr ...

. As the lead representative body for barristers in England and Wales, the Bar Council’s work is devoted to ensuring the Bar’s voice is heard, efficiently and effectively, and with the interests of the Bar (and the public interest) as its focus. The Chair in 2025 is Barbara Mills KC.

History

The General Council of the Bar was created in 1894 to deal with breaches of a barrister's professional standards, something that had previously been handled by the judiciary. Along with the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

it formed the

Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest. It is responsible for: * Setting standards of conduct for barristers and authorising barristers to practise; * Monitoring the service provided by barri ...

in 1974, a union that was broken up on 1 January 1987 following a report by Lord Rawlinson. The

Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41) was an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the legal profession and courts of England and Wales. The act was the culmination of a series ...

designated the Bar Council as the professional body for barristers, with the role as a regulatory body being split off in 2006 to form the

Committees

As part of the representative remit of the Bar Council, it has a number of representative committees. The most senior of these is the Bar Council, which has 56 members representing organisations such as the Circuits and Specialist Bar Associations, and 60 members elected by the wider Bar. There are a further fourteen committees, including: * Bar Representation Committee * Education and Training Committee * Employed Barristers Committee * Equality, Diversity, and Social Mobility Committee * Ethics Committee * European Committee * General Management Committee * International Committee * Law Reform Committee * Legal Services Committee * Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Committee * Remuneration Committee

List of chairs

* 1891–1899: Herbert Cozens-Hardy, QC, MP *1899–1901: Joseph Walton, KC *1901–1907: Marshall Warmington, KC *1907–c. 1913: William English Harrison, KC *1913–18: Paul Ogden Lawrence, KC *1918–20: John Alderson Foote, KC *1920–31: Sir Thomas Hughes, KC * 1931–32: E. A. Mitchell-Innes, CBE, KC *1932–46: Sir Herbert Cunliffe, KBE, KC *1946–1947: Sir Charles Doughty, KC *1947–48: G. O. Slade, KC *1948–52: Sir Godfrey Russell Vick, QC * 1952–57:

Hartley Shawcross Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, (4 February 1902 – 10 July 2003), known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Cr ...

, QC, MP * 1957–58:

Milner Holland Sir Edward Milner Holland (8 September 1902 – 2 November 1969) was a British lawyer. He served as the Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1951 to 1969. Holland was born in Sutton, Surrey, the second son of the publisher Sir Edward ...

, CBE, QC * 1958–60: Gerald Gardiner, QC * 1960–62: Geoffrey Lawrence, QC * 1962–63: Sir Milner Holland, CBE, QC *1963–66:

Joseph Molony Sir Joseph Thomas Molony, KCVO, QC (8 December 1907 – 28 May 1978) was a British barrister. He was Attorney-General to the Duchy of Cornwall from 1960 to 1969, Recorder of Bristol from 1964 to 1971, and Chairman of the General Council of the Ba ...

, QC *1966–68: The Hon H. A. P. Fisher, QC * 1968–70: Desmond Ackner, QC * 1970–72: John Arnold, QC * 1973–74:

James Comyn Sir James Peter Comyn (8 March 1921 – 5 January 1997) was an Irish-born barrister and English High Court judge. The scion of a prominent Nationalist legal family, Comyn was sent to England after they fell out with Éamon de Valera. Considere ...

, QC *1974–75: Patrick Neill *1975–76: Sir Peter Rawlinson * 1985–86: Robert Alexander *1987: Peter Scott *1988: Robert Johnson *1989:

Desmond Fennell Desmond Carolan Fennell (29 June 1929 – 16 July 2021) was an Irish writer, essayist, cultural philosopher, and linguist. Throughout his career, Fennell repeatedly departed from prevailing norms. In the 1950s and early 1960s, with his extensi ...

*1990: Peter Cresswell *1991: Anthony Scrivener QC *1992: The Lord Williams of Mostyn *1993: John Rowe *1994: Robert Seabrook * 1995: Peter Goldsmith *1996: David Penry-Davey *1997: Robert Owen * 1998: Heather Hallett * 1999: Daniel Brennan * 2000: Jonathan Hirst * 2001: Roy Amlot * 2002: David Bean * 2003: Matthias Kelly * 2004: Stephen Irwin * 2005: Guy Mansfield * 2006: Stephen Hockman * 2007:

Geoffrey Vos Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos (born 22 April 1955) is a judge in England and Wales. Since January 2021, he has held the positions of Master of the Rolls and the Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales. Early life and education Geoffrey Charles ...

* 2008: Timothy Dutton * 2009: Desmond Browne * 2010: Nicholas Green * 2011: Peter Lodder * 2012: Michael Todd * 2013:

Maura McGowan Dame Maura Patricia McGowan, DBE (born 27 January 1957), styled The Hon. Mrs Justice McGowan, is a judge of the High Court of England and Wales. Personal life and education She was educated at Virgo Fidelis Convent School and the Universit ...

* 2014: Nicholas Lavender * 2015: Alistair MacDonald * 2016: Chantal-Aimée Doerries * 2017: Andrew Langdon *2018: Andrew Walker (commercial lawyer) *2019: Richard Atkins QC *2020: Amanda Pinto QC *2021: Derek Sweeting QC *2022: Mark Fenhalls QC *2023: Nick Vineall KC *2024: Sam Townend KC *2025: Barbara Mills KC

References

External links

Official website
{{Law firms of the United Kingdom 1894 establishments in the United Kingdom Bar of England and Wales Organizations established in 1894 Regulators of barristers and advocates Legal regulators of the United Kingdom Law enforcement in Wales