Barrister : Salary and conditions

Typical starting salaries during training/pupillage: £10,000.
Self-employed barristers typical salaries: £25,000 - £300,000.
Barristers in the Crown Prosecution Service: £29,000 - £80,000.
Barristers with ten or more years of experience: £65,000 - £1,000,000.
Most barristers are self-employed and have to contribute towards the running/overheads of chambers from their income, as well as covering their own tax and pension arrangements. They do not receive holiday pay.
All pupillages are funded unless, in exceptional circumstances, a waiver is granted. Earnings for barristers starting out are sometimes extremely low and there may be a considerable delay between doing the work and receiving remuneration.
There are over 12,000 self-employed barristers and over 3,000 employed barristers (The Bar Council , 2010).
68% of practising barristers are men but in 2009, more women were called to the bar than men.
While courts tend to sit at regular hours during the day, barristers frequently have to work long, unsocial hours involving evenings and weekends, particularly early on in their career.
This is a demanding and intellectually challenging role, but there is a very supportive professional community.
Most opportunities are in London and the main provincial centres.
Barristers are expected to conform to high standards of dress, ethics and professional conduct.
While it is relatively rare to travel or work overseas, travel within a working day is a common feature.

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AGCAS

Written by AGCAS editors

Date:

October 2010