How to become a barrister

Although most barristers act independently within ‘Inns’, they can also be employed by institutions such as the Crown Prosecution Service, Government Legal Service, the armed forces or a variety of commercial organisations. The requirements Pursuing a career as a barrister is a route not to be taken lightly.

It is highly competitive, with only the highest calibre graduates standing any chance of success. Advocacy is a key element of the job as a barrister, therefore you must be comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people on a frequent basis. It is your job to convince the jury, so you must be persuasive and strong willed as the slightest appearance of nerves or a fault in your dialogue could lose the case and the freedom of your client in criminal cases.

Although a large part of the job involves public speaking, a barrister must also have excellent personal skills, as they must be able to earn the trust of their clients and fellow colleagues. You must also be able to improvise, as the twists and turns of the court will always bring up subjects that you may not have prepared for. An ability to deal with pressure is vital as late nights are common and the pressure of court appearances high.

Moreover, as most barristers operate independently, you must be prepared to endure the possibility of financial hardship at the start of your career, with delayed earnings a common occurrence. You must also have a very competitive nature as places are few and far between. Only around half of students undergoing the vocational stage of training will get a pupillage and then only half of these will obtain tenancy at a Chamber.

Bearing in mind that most candidates have a glowing academic record from some of the best universities in the world, so think hard and long about whether you would stand a chance. It must also be remembered that the average costs of training to have even a chance of being considered for tenancy is around £11,000, not including undergraduate debt.

The Academic stage

If you are a non-law graduate you will firstly be required to complete the CPE/GDL (law conversion course); however, following this comes the Bar Professional Training Course. The BPTC is a one year full-time course that prepares you for life at the Bar through a range of core subjects and electives.

During the BPTC you will focus upon several core subjects, these being Criminal advocacy, Civil advocacy, Drafting, Writing Opinions, Civil litigation, Evidence, ADR (alternative dispute resolution) Professional conduct and Ethics. Before you can begin the course however you must join one of the Inns of Court. There are four of these professional associations which every barrister or trainee must be a member of. It is also these associations that ‘call people to the bar’ (i.e. employ individuals as barristers).

Each Inn is able to offer students support through the vocational stage of their training. This usually includes access to a library, mooting societies, educational support and a general sounding board from individuals that have already done what you are doing. There are subtle differences between each Inn; for more advice upon each of them, please view our Inns of Court section.

20-09-2009