A career as a barrister

In the UK the legal professionals, or lawyers, fall into one of two categories: solicitors or barristers, depending on the training route they have taken and the type of work they undertake.

A barrister in England and Wales specialises in advocacy or in layman's terms, representing individuals or organisations in court. They can also advise professional clients on points of law.

Once their training is complete, a barrister will normally specialise in an area of law, such as chancery, commercial law, common law or criminal law.

While most barristers are self-employed, they normally work as part of a chambers, although some are employed by private and public organisations.

Prospective barristers should prepare themselves for a long course of training. Once an undergraduate degree has been obtained, normally in a traditional academic subject, from a good university with a 2.1 or first class honours, graduates should apply for the competitive Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC).

Prior to starting this, hopeful barristers should join one of the four Inns of Court, which will provide educational and social support.

BPTC applicants without a law degree must undertake a conversion course, known as the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), before applying.

This will give them a grounding in public law, law of the European Union, criminal law, property law, equity and the law of trusts. The CPE takes a year to complete.

Once the BPTC has been achieved prospective barristers must complete a pupilage before they can practice. Again, placements are fiercely competitive and there is an average of around three applicants for every two places.

Once the pupilage has been completed barristers are accepted to the bar and qualified to practise.

Salaries for a barrister can range vastly but in the first year can be anything between £10,000 and £90,000, depending on the size of the chambers and the field the lawyer has chosen to work in.

However, after five years a barrister can expect to earn between £40,000 and £200,000, while after ten or more years of call this can rise to anything up to £1,000,000.

Typically, a Queen's Counsel will be the highest earner in the profession, with those choosing to work in criminal law clocking some of the lowest salaries.

Working hours also vary widely. While courts sit during regular daytime hours barristers frequently have to work around the clock to prepare cases and do not receive holiday pay as they are self-employed. This also means they must cover their own tax arrangements and pension provisions.

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