Fuck's Sake.
A Barrister's Core Duties:
To observe their duty to the court in the administration of justice.
They;
must not mislead a court or a judge or waste a court’s time and may need to make sure the court has all the relevant information it needs
must not abuse their role as an advocate; and
they must ensure that their ability to act independently is not compromised.
To act in the best interests of each client
A barrister who is working for you must always think about what is best for you and do their job in a way that reflects that. This does not mean that a barrister can lie on your behalf, or that they must do everything you tell them. Their duty to the court comes above even their duty to you as their client and barristers must act with independence, honesty and integrity. This means, for example, that they cannot do anything for you that would go against their duty to the court.
To act with honesty, and with integrity
The duty to act with honesty and with integrity includes not misleading or lying to anyone, not encouraging other people to mislead or be untruthful, and only accepting money and fees that they are legally allowed to. Barristers should also show integrity by upholding the professional standards expected of them.
To maintain their independence
To make sure barristers maintain their independence, they are not allowed to offer, promise or give gifts or referral fees to any client (or intermediary such as a solicitor), or to accept any money from a client or intermediary unless it is as payment for their professional work. They cannot work for you if there is, or they think there might be, a conflict of interest for them in doing so.
Not to behave in a way that is likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in them or the barrister profession
Things that would be likely to diminish trust and confidence in the profession could include committing a crime, being dishonest, harassing others, offensive conduct towards other people, or abuse of their position as a barrister.
To keep the affairs of each client confidential
This means that barristers are not allowed to talk to other people about what you tell them without your consent.
To provide a competent standard of work and service to each client
A competent standard of work and service includes promoting a client's best interests, treating clients with courtesy and consideration, advising a client in terms that they can understand, avoiding unnecessary costs for a client, and reading a client's instructions promptly.
Not to discriminate unlawfully against any person
Barristers must not treat anyone less favourably or harass them or victimise them because of their race, colour, ethnicity or nationality, citizenship, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, relationship status, disability, age, religion, belief or pregnancy/maternity.
To be open and cooperative with regulators
This means that barristers have to do what is asked of them by us or the Legal Ombudsman and provide the Bar Standards Board with information they need about them.
To take reasonable steps to manage their practice...
... or carry out their role within their practice, competently and in such a way as to achieve compliance with their legal and regulatory obligations
This means that a barrister must run their practice in a way that follows the rules in the BSB Handbook.
Just because people don't like the verdicts, that doesn't mean the barrister is doing something wrong - that means they're doing something right.