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Some barristers are worried that boycotting the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates will lead to their committing a criminal offence by practising without authorisation, the chairman of the Criminal Bar Association has revealed. Meanwhile, the first wave of judicial training on the scheme has been successfully completed.

Completion of the much-anticipated Legal Education and Training Review has been delayed, it has emerged. The academic team compiling the report after 18 months of research and consultation was meant to have delivered it by the end of 2012.

The Legal Services Board has no agenda for fundamental reform of the profession and would like to see a new era of co-operation between frontline regulators on matters of common interest, its chair David Edmonds told barristers last week.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) came under fire for “mission creep” in the House of Lords last night. In a debate initiated by Bar Standards Board chair Baroness Deech, several lawyer peers accused the LSB of going further than the oversight role envisaged for it.

Law Society chief executive Des Hudson has responded to calls for all advocates – including solicitors – to be regulated by the Bar Standards Board by saying: “Are they having a laugh?” And SAHCA chief says QASA and ABSs give solicitor-advocates a “golden opportunity” to compete with barristers.