An open letter opposing the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) proposed changes to the training route for barristers has been signed by more than 500 barristers, including former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf. Last year, the BSB proposed: a flexible “managed pathways” approach; a specialist exam; or keeping the system as it is. The letter calls the exam option “absurd” as a series of exams could not assess all the areas of knowledge usually covered. It also warns the “managed pathways” approach is not based on any research.