QASA Registration “How to” Guide - Bar Standards … · accreditation for QCs appointed before and after 2010. o Those who were appointed between 2010 and 2013 will receive full

QASA Registration “How to” Guide A guide to online registration for the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates

Version 2

Published: April 2014

BAR STANDARDS BOARD Guide to online registration for QASA

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Contents

Introduction 4

How to register for QASA accreditation 5

- Accessing Barrister Connect 5

- Logging in to Barrister Connect and accessing QASA 6

- Pupil registration 8

- Queen's Counsel (QC) registration 20

- Registration neither as a QC nor pupil 12

o Non-trial accreditation 13

o Full-trial accreditation 14

- Answering the notification questions 15

- Answering the equality and diversity monitoring questions 17

- Making payment 18

Consolidating your provisional accreditation into full accreditation 20

- QASA Home Page 20

o Pupil accreditation and accreditation at Level 1 20

o Accreditation as a non-trial advocate 21

o QC accreditation for QCs appointed between 2010 and 2013 22

o QC accreditation for QCs appointed before 2010 23

o Accreditation neither as a pupil, non-trial advocate nor QC 24

- Viewing and submitting your Criminal Advocacy Evaluation Form (CAEF) 26

- How to request an Independent Assessor 32

- How to request an Extension 33


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Introduction

The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) is a joint scheme being developed by the Bar Standards

Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and ILEX Professional Standards. The Scheme will regulate the quality of all

advocates appearing in the criminal courts in England and Wales, whether they are barristers, solicitors, or legal

executives. The Scheme will apply to all advocates, whether they are self-employed or employed, and whether they

are acting for the prosecution or defence.

For further information regarding the Scheme please refer to the QASA section of the Bar Standard's Board website, accessible at https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/QASA/.

This illustrated document will guide you each of the required steps for registering for QASA using the online portal,

Barrister Connect.

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/QASA/


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How to register for QASA accreditation

This section will inform you how to initially register for the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA), using

Barrister Connect.

Accessing Barrister Connect

In order to access Barrister Connect, go to www.barristerconnect.org.uk.

Alternatively Barrister Connect is easily accessible through the Bar Standards Board website; located in the top right

hand corner on the home page (as shown in the screen-shot below).

“Bar Standards Board Home-Page”; accessed at https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk, on 2 April 2014.

http://www.barristerconnect.org.uk/

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/


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Logging in to Barrister Connect and accessing QASA

Once you have accessed Barrister Connect, you will be presented with the log in screen (as shown in the screen-shot

below) and you will be prompted to log in using your user number and password. Next, log in to Barrister Connect

using these details.

- If you are logging on for the first time, please follow this how-to-guide; accessed at

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media/1408895/barrister_connect_guidance_-_may_2012_gg.pdf

- Alternatively, if at this stage you do not know your log in details or are having difficulty logging in please

contact the Records Office on 020 7242 0934 or email [email protected].

Once logged in you are automatically guided to your bespoke home screen. Here a number of options are available to

you dependant on your membership and practising status. Next click on the QASA tab (as shown in the screen-shot

on the following page) which will take you through to the QASA section of Barrister Connect.

Enter your Login Details in the spaces provided

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media/1408895/barrister_connect_guidance_-_may_2012_gg.pdf

mailto:[email protected]


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PLEASE NOTE, if you are a pupil and do not yet have a Barrister Connect user number, please contact the Records

Office on 020 7242 0934 or email [email protected] for further instructions.



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Pupil registration

Those registering for QASA as a pupil, either during your second six or within 14 days of doing so, will be greeted with

the below screen.

In this instance, simply click “Apply for full-trial accreditation” to proceed to the next stage of the registration

process.

As a pupil, you will be automatically registered at QASA Level 1. Confirmation of your application as a Level 1

Advocate will then be displayed in the following screen (as shown in the screen-shot on the following page) along with

a brief description of the work you will now be entitled to undertake.


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- For any further details on pupil registration, please refer to section 2 of the QASA Handbook for criminal

advocates, available within the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board Website.

Click “continue” to progress to the next stage of the registration process.

Please now proceed directly to the “Answering the equality and diversity monitoring questions” section of

this “How to” Guide, on page 17.

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/for-barristers/quality-assurance-scheme-for-advocates/key-qasa-materials/


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Queen’s Counsel (QC) registration

Those registering for QASA as a Queen’s Counsel (QC) will be greeted with an identical screen to those at Pupil

Registration (as shown above on page 8). Again, simply click “Apply for accreditation” to proceed to the next stage of

the registration process.

As a QC, you will be automatically given the option to register at QASA Level 4QC. Confirmation of your application as

a Level 4QC Advocate will then be displayed in the following screen (as shown in the screen-shots below) along with

a brief description of the work you will now be entitled to undertake. There is also some further information regarding

accreditation for QCs appointed before and after 2010.

o Those who were appointed between 2010 and 2013 will receive full accreditation for the Scheme at Level 4

QC, with their 5 year accreditation running from the date they were appointed QC.

o Those appointed before 2010 will be granted provisional accreditation at Level 4QC.

Should you not wish to register as a Level 4QC, and instead want to register at a lower level for QASA, please contact

us by email at [email protected].

- For any further details on registration as a Queens Counsel, please refer to section 2 of the QASA

Handbook for criminal advocates, available within the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards

Board Website.




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Please now proceed directly to the “Answering the notification questions” section of this “How to” Guide, on

page 15.


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Registration neither as a QC nor pupil

Those who are neither a QC nor a pupil, when selecting the QASA tab, will be greeted with a slightly different screen

(as shown in the screen-shots below).

- For further details on registration neither as a QC nor pupil, please refer to section 2 of the QASA

Handbook for criminal advocates, available within the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards

Board Website.

You will be asked whether you wish to register for QASA as a “full-trial” advocate or as a “non-trial” advocate. Make

your selection by clicking on the respective tab.



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Non-trial accreditation

Those who have selected non-trial accreditation will be shown confirmation of their application as a non-trial advocate

in the following screen (as shown in the screen-shot below), along with a brief description of the work they will now be

entitled to undertake.


Those who complete the initial registration stage as a non-trial advocate will be granted provisional accreditation as a

non-trial advocate.

Please now proceed directly to the “Answering the notification questions” section of this “How to” Guide on

page 15.

Full-trial accreditation

Those who have selected full-trial accreditation will be required to select the QASA level which you are going to

register at. On the next page, you will be greeted with a table (as shown in the screen-shots on the following page)

which offer brief descriptions of the work you will be entitled to undertake at each level.

- For further guidance in relation to the levels, please refer to section 3 of the QASA Handbook for criminal

advocates, available within the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board Website.

Once you have made your selection, scroll down the page and select it from the options available using the drop-down

box (as shown in the screen-shots on the following page). Next, click on “Apply for Accreditation” to progress to the

next stage of registration.



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Once you have made your selection, click “continue” to progress to the next stage of the registration process.

Please now proceed directly to the “Answering the notification questions” section of this “How to” Guide on

page 15.

In this instance, QASA Level 3 has been selected.


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Answering the notification questions

Now that you successfully selected your QASA level, or if it has been automatically selected for you as a QC, you are

required to answer notification questions based on your current practice.

Please answer all of the notification questions (even if the answer is 0) in the boxes shown on this page (as shown in

the screen-shot below).

If you have chosen to register as a “Non-Trial Advocate”, you will be greeted with a slightly different set of

notification questions (as shown in the screen-shot on the following page). As above, please answer all of the

notification questions (even if the answer is 0).


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Once you have answered your questions accurately, click “continue” to progress to the next stage of the registration

process.

Please now proceed directly to the “Answering the equality and diversity monitoring questions” section of

this “How to” Guide on page 17.


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Answering the equality and diversity monitoring questions

The next stage involves answering monitoring questions (as shown in the screen-shot below). These are entirely

optional and should you wish to answer, please select the answer from the drop-down box provided.

Data collected will be analysed in order to identify any trends and to help monitor progress against Bar Council and

BSB equality objectives - these are available on the Bar Council website. If you have any concerns about this data

collection exercise, please contact Pamela Bhalla, Bar Council Equality and Diversity Adviser

at [email protected], or via telephone on 0207 611 1320.

Once you have answered your questions, or chosen not to answer your questions, click “submit your details” to

progress to the next stage of the registration process.

Please now proceed directly to the “Making payment” section of this “How to” Guide on page 18.



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Making payment

Now that you have completed the monitoring questions section of the registration process, you will be prompted to

make payment. A summary of the payment will be presented to you (as shown in the screen-shot below) displaying

the level of your application and the price affiliated with this. This may differ to the screen-shot shown below,

depending on the level which you have chosen to accredit at and its’ respective cost.

- For further details on payment please further to the QASA Administration FAQs, located in the QASA

section of the Bar Standards Board Website.

You will then be prompted to follow the on-screen instructions to finalise your payment. Once completed, a receipt of

the transaction, confirming your application, will be automatically sent to the email address which you have provided to

Barrister Connect.

PLEASE NOTE, payment may only be made online.

Should payment prove unsuccessful you will be greeted with an error message informing you that payment

has not been completed. If this occurs, please contact your card provider to resolve the issue. Once the issue

has been resolved, log out of Barrister Connect and back in again to repeat the registration process.

You will then be greeted with a confirmation page (as shown in the screen-shot on the following page), confirming

your Accreditation at your chosen level. The message with which you are greeted with will of course differ slightly

depending on the QASA Level you have chosen to register at, as well as your current practising or membership

status.

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media/1455114/qasa_administration_faqs_v4.pdf


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Consolidating your provisional accreditation into full accreditation

This section will inform you how to consolidate your provisional QASA accreditation into full accreditation using

Barrister Connect.

QASA Home Page

Now that you have obtained provisional accreditation at your chosen level, the next time you access the QASA tab

within Barrister Connect it will show your current level and this will continue to display on your “QASA Home Page”.

This page will be a bespoke page which tailors to the level which you have chosen or been automatically allocated, to

accredit at.

Pupil accreditation and accreditation at Level 1

Should you have registered as a pupil or at Level 1, you will have automatically been granted Full

Accreditation at QASA Level 1. You will now have completed your registration process and will be presented with a

bespoke “QASA Home Page” relating to advocates whom have registered at Level 1 (as shown in the screen-shots

below).

- For further information relating to accreditation as a QASA Level 1 advocate, please refer to the QASA

Handbook for criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board

website.



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As a level 1 advocate, you will have the opportunity to progress to the next level either as a full-trial advocate or a non-

trial advocate at any time. Further details of these requirements and the progression process can be found within the

QASA Handbook for criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board

website.

If you would like to see a detailed step by step guide to support the progression process, please access the

Progression “How to” Guide, which will shortly be available in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards

Board website.

Accreditation as a non-trial advocate

Should you have registered as a non-trial advocate, you will now arrive at a bespoke “QASA Home Page”

detailing your provisional accreditation at the non-trial level (as shown in the screen-shot on the following page).

- For further information relating to accreditation as a QASA non-trial advocate, please refer to section 2 of

the QASA Handbook for criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar

Standards Board website.





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You must apply for full accreditation within 24 months of the date that you were granted provisional accreditation as a

non-trial advocate. You should not wait until the end of the 24 month period to make your application, if you are in a

position to do so earlier. Your application for full accreditation should be made as soon as is practicable.

In order to consolidate your provisional accreditation into full accreditation, click “Confirm your non-trial

accreditation” to progress to the next stage of the registration process.

Please now proceed directly to the “Viewing and submitting your Criminal Advocacy Evaluation Form

(CAEF)” section of this “How to” Guide on page 26.

QC accreditation for QCs appointed between 2010 and 2013

Should you have registered as a QC who has been appointed after 2010, you will have automatically been

granted Full Accreditation at QASA Level 4QC. You will now have completed your registration process and will be

presented with a bespoke “QASA Home Page” relating to advocates whom have registered at Level 4QC (as shown in

the screen-shot on the following page).

- For further information relating to accreditation as a QASA Level 4QC advocate, please refer to section 2

of the QASA Handbook for criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar




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QC accreditation for QCs appointed before 2010

Should you have registered as a QC who has been appointed before 2010 you will now arrive at a bespoke

“QASA Home Page” detailing your provisional accreditation at Level 4QC (as shown in the screen-shot on the

following page).

- For further information relating to accreditation as a QASA Level 4QC advocate, please refer to section 2

of the QASA Handbook for criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar




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You must apply for full accreditation within 24 months of the date that you were granted provisional accreditation at

Level 4QC. You should not wait until the end of the 24 month period to make your application, if you are in a position

to do so earlier. Your application for full accreditation should be made as soon as is practicable.

In order to consolidate your provisional accreditation into full accreditation, click “Apply for full accreditation” to




Accreditation neither as a pupil, non-trial advocate nor QC

Should you have registered neither as a pupil, non-trial advocate nor QC, you will now arrive at a bespoke

“QASA Home Page” detailing your provisional accreditation at your chosen level (as shown in the screen-shot

on the following page).

- For further information relating to accreditation, please refer to section 2 of the QASA Handbook for

criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board website.



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You must apply for full accreditation within 24 months of the date that you were granted provisional accreditation your

chosen level. You should not wait until the end of the 24 month period to make your application, if you are in a position

to do so earlier. Your application for full accreditation should be made as soon as is practicable.

In order to consolidate your provisional accreditation into full accreditation, click “Apply for full accreditation” to





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Viewing and submitting your Criminal Advocacy Evaluation Form (CAEF)

Now that you have chosen to apply for full accreditation, you will be presented with the “Submit your application” page

(as shown in the screen-shot below).

In the majority instances, the evaluator will return your completed CAEF to the Bar Standards Board. You will receive

a notification email when each form has been uploaded, and it will be accessible within this page. Should you have

received the completed CAEF directly from the evaluator, please upload this using the “Add CAEF Document”

feature.

Please now select “Add CAEF Document” to start uploading your evidence.

Should you have chosen to register as a non-trial advocate, you will be greeted with an identical screen (as

shown in the screen-shot on the following page).


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You will now be presented with the CAEF upload screen (as shown in the screen-shot on the following page). When

uploading your CAEF, you are required to enter the details of the case during which you have were assessed. You will

be required to enter the title/name of the case, the court or assessment centre, in which your evaluation took place,

the name of the evaluator who completed your assessment and the date on which it occurred.


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You will be able to select the court or assessment centre, where you evaluation took place from the drop-down list

which will be automatically engaged once you start typing its name. You will also be able to select the evaluator,

whether this be a judge, independent assessor or assessment centre evaluator, and this can be done by entering their

surname and selecting again from the drop-down list (as shown in the two following screen-shots below).

- PLEASE NOTE, if you are unable to find the court or assessment centre where your evaluation took

place, or your evaluator from their respective drop-down lists, please email

[email protected].

Finally you will need to upload the CAEF by attaching it in the box provided, by clicking “choose file”, and selecting

the file you wish to upload. PLEASE NOTE, before uploading your scanned form, please ensure that it:-

- is scanned in colour or grey-scale format;

- is in a high resolution;



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- is scanned without any alterations to its original size (scaling); and

- is in pdf. format.

Once you have selected your file and filled in the required information accordingly, click “Upload”, where upon you will

be returned to the previous “Submit your application” page. Repeat this process until you have successfully uploaded

the required number of CAEFs for your chosen level.

Once you have successfully uploaded the required number of CAEFs, your CAEF upload screen should now give you

the option to submit your application in the green box towards the bottom of the page (as shown in the screen-shot

below). Click “Submit application” to continue to the final stage of the registration process.

Once you have chosen to submit your application, simply confirm that you make the “Declaration of Truth” (as shown

in the screen-shot on the following page) to complete your QASA application.


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You have now successfully submitted your application to the QASA Scheme. You will be presented with a

confirmation page and an automated email, confirming your submission, will be sent to the email address registered to

your Barrister Connect profile.

Your application will be assessed and verified, and the outcome will be emailed to you within 28 working days. During

this period you are permitted to continue practising criminal advocacy at your current level. Whenever you attempt to

access the QASA section of Barrister Connect during this time, you will be presented with an application submitted

page (as shown in the screen-shot on the following page).

- Should you have not received this email or have any further enquiries at this point, please contact

[email protected] or telephone 020 7611 1479.



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How to Request an Independent Assessor

If you are unable to obtain the requisite number of CAEFs to support your QASA application, you will be able to

request an Independent Assessor. In order to do this, click the “Request independent assessor” option which is

available at the bottom of the “Submit your application” page. This will prompt further information relating to the

requesting process to appear (as shown in the screen-shot below).

- For further details on Independent Assessment, please refer to section 2 of the QASA Handbook for

criminal advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board website.

You will then be required to provide a reason in support of your request for an independent assessment. Type the

reason for your request (a 500 word limit applies here) and click “submit”.

- PLEASE NOTE once you have requested an independent assessment you will be unable to do anything

else on Barrister Connect until your request has been verified.

Your request will be assessed and the outcome will be emailed to you within 28 working days, along with any further

instructions. You may be asked to provide additional information in support of your request. During this period you are

permitted to continue practising criminal advocacy at your current level.

Whenever you log back in, you will be greeted with the page (as shown in the screen-shot above).



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How to make an Extension

Applications for an extension can be made 6 months prior to your provisional accreditation date of expiry. During the

final 6 months of your provisional accreditation window, an option will become available on Barrister Connect where

extension requests can be made. This will be available on the “Submit your application” page.

- For further details on the extension process, please refer to section 2 of the QASA Handbook for criminal

advocates, located in the Key QASA Materials section of the Bar Standards Board website.


Documents

QASA Registration “How to” Guide - Bar Standards … · accreditation for QCs appointed before and after 2010. o Those who were appointed between 2010 and 2013 will receive full