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The long-running saga over standard contractual terms between barristers and solicitors has hit another hurdle after the Legal Services Board issued a statutory warning notice that it is considering whether to reject changes to the cab-rank rule that would underpin them.

Some solicitors are putting barristers under “increasing pressure” to enter into referral fee arrangements, while others are trying to take “improper advantage” of advocates by abusing the ‘one case, one fee’ rules in criminal work, the Bar Council has complained.

The Bar Council is urging barristers to embrace public access. But, says John Binks, the reality of doing the work will come as a rude shock to many barristers. It can be done, but they will need to revisit the way they do business, including the chambers model.

There are too many barristers in private practice, Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke has said. In a report on a meeting with the justice secretary, Bar Council chairman Peter Lodder QC said Mr Clarke had also claimed it was “cloud cuckoo land” for chambers to think they could continue as they used to.

The Bar Standards Board’s move into entity regulation raises questions about the future of the Bar as a separate branch of the legal profession and could even lead to a solicitor heading the Bar, a former Bar Council chairman will warn this evening.