Dishonest and “greedy” barristers are cashing in on remote hearings by charging a full day’s fee despite wrapping up their submissions quickly, according to a Bar Council report.
The body, which represents 18,000 barristers, highlighted fears that a minority were gaming the system and taking advantage of virtual hearings, which boomed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Official figures show that in the teeth of the lockdowns in 2021, 58 per cent of hearings in England and Wales were remote. The numbers have been falling ever since, to 44 per cent in 2022 and 25 per cent last year, but remain well above levels before the pandemic, when remote hearings were rare.
• Remote working ‘poses a threat to the Bar’
In the report,