Becoming a barrister- explain it to me in simple terms!

[Thingsthatgo]

Hello
My teen DS has expressed that he would like to become a barrister. We do not have anyone in our immediate family with a 'normal' career as we all started our own businesses, so I don't have much in the way of contacts.
DS attends a fairly bog standard secondary school, but is doing very well (predicted all 9s for GCSE). He loves history and would like to study that at University or Law.
Now, please could someone tell me step by step the routes to becoming a barrister. I understand it's a long and expensive slog, but I don't know the process. Please tell me the pitfalls, and the pros and cons, the exams he will have to take and how that works. Please explain it to me like I'm 5 years old!

https://www.lawcareers.net/Barristers/CareerPath

this is a really good run down

I don't really know about the career path but I do have a distant relative who, like your DS, went to local Comprehensive school, did well in exams and went on to study law at Uni. Their main stumbling block was trying to get a pupillage. They had no connections and couldn't get a place at any of the Chambers in London. Ended up doing other jobs for a couple of years which, whilst not directly law related, involved working in areas that would provide life experience of vulnerable people who were likely to come into contact with the legal system. Due to persistence and determination, they eventually managed to get a pupillage, but not in London. Doing very well now but it's been a long slog and at one point was ready to give up on their dream of ever becoming a barrister.

Thank you @Weali, that's really helpful.
And thank you also @ohtowinthelottery this is the thing that concerns me - the introductions and connections that we cannot really facilitate. Maybe I need to make some more influential friends!

Nothing to add but how sad that this is still a career (among many others) that require contacts to get a pupillage rather than the merits of the person applying.

It is pretty rare nowadays that it is done on contacts. Most chambers run open processes for applications for pupillage and mini pupillage though it is insanely competitive. Most applicants will have oxbridge or RG firsts so the work experience / volunteering in law clinics etc is a useful way of differentiating between a number of very good people.

I was a barrister and left the bar because my area was totally incompatible with family life. I didn't have any family contacts but temped in a local authority legal department in University summer holidays so got to meet barristers doing cases that way and sit in on hearings.

Downsides of the career - it is expensive to qualify - the bar course costs a fortune. It is very competitive, you're self employed so you have a nightmare boss, no holiday and no sick pay etc, clients can take months if not years to pay you while you have to spend money on life, travel and accommodation so an awful lot of people have to stop because they just can't afford to continue.

Thanks @CitrineRaindropPhoenix that's is really useful. Do you regret doing it?

God no. Not for a minute! I'd love to go back but I'm too old and lazy now! I don't miss the travelling and lack of money but it is the most interesting work I've ever done and it still gives me a bit of a thrill when a case I did is cited in a report . I'm trying to get my fix by judging instead but it just isn't the same.

Just for context - I'm now a solicitor and part time judge. As a qualified barrister I only needed to do a transfer test to become a solicitor, not a full training contract so it was very easy to switch but stay doing law.

I have a relative who's a relatively newly qualified barrister. She has a first in law from a highly ranked uni. She was pretty much the only person on her bar course who hadn't been to Oxbridge. She's very smart and hardworking but said the bar exams were really tough. It also took a while to get a pupillage despite having legal connections. She works in civil law and has found a great deal of sexism, barristers are very dependant on clerks at their chambers passing work on to them and she has been passed over for work she would be very capable of doing. I think she's quite disillusioned.

He should start off by visiting your local courts to see what goes on. Take a good book because there will be some boring bits when nothing happens.

Read The Secret Barrister's books - they're very readable, but he needs to be aware that they focus on criminal law, which is not the whole story. Civil law has more opportunities and is infinitely better paid.

Ask his school whether they have any contacts for work experience: any form of law would be a start if there aren't any barrister contacts.

If you've started your own business could you ask the solicitors you use for tips? They'll probably have useful contacts.

My husband’s a barrister. He got a scholarship to Oxford. He doesn't earn anywhere near what people imagine - it's a misunderstood profession. He often has to (skim) read and understand obviously 1000 pages in a couple of days. He loves the intellectual challenge though.

It is very tough as there are way more qualified applicants for pupillages than placements.

Being a barrister is a great career for those who like intellectual challenge, shaping an argument and presenting that in person. It suits people who are bright, like to work independently and who are resilient.

It is very competitive to get a training place (pupillage), but there are lots of organisations that work to make the bar more accessible - take a look at Bridging the Bar for example. I know two barristers personally who come from normal backgrounds and did not have contacts at the bar before they became barristers.

He may also want to take a look at becoming a solicitor to see if that floats his boat. This has many of the same facets around intellectual challenge, but usually involves more working in teams and working directly with clients. It is still competitive on entry but not quite to the extent that is the case with getting pupillage.

Thank you all for your advice and wisdom. The things that appeal to him are the intellectual challenge, the research and presenting an argument, and also to some extent the performance aspect, and the history of the courtroom and justice system. He is still exploring his options.
I think he is robust and ambitious enough for it, not sure if we have the financial resources!

Hi OP,

I'm a barrister (for about 10 years), having gone to state school, first in family to go to uni, not Oxbridge. I love it but it's not for everyone.

This is a very helpful overview:

https://www.innertemple.org.uk/becoming-a-barrister/ (scroll down to bottom of page and click on "career guide"). In my chambers we're about 50/50 law degree versus other degree + law conversion course (GDL).

IMO the bar exams are very easy, basically just a memory test, and the whole Bar course year is expensive but not challenging to anyone who can pass undergraduate with a good degree. The difficulty and the career bottleneck is in obtaining pupillage. For that reason it's a good idea for anyone to make sure you really want to do it before spending tens of thousands on a bar course which isn't much use in most other professions. Thankfully (1) there's scholarships for the bar course (and fewer, but some, for law conversion course); (2) you can do work experience (mini pupillage, sitting with a judge aka marshalling, pro bono advice to a degree) before committing to take the bar course and (3) you apply for pupillage a year in advance of it starting, so if you apply and don't get it, you can simply opt not to take the bar course or to try again next year. If you do get pupillage, most chambers will pay some of your training award in advance which you can use to pay for the course or expenses.

History is a very good match for the Bar I think, although not my background. It's very common as a UG degree. Anything with arguments, analysis and debating is useful prep and if he enjoys those he might enjoy the Bar.

Hope useful but feel free to ask anything else specific!

Law degree then bar vocational course ( costs thousamds) then pupillage. Pupillage are harder to get than training contracts ( solicitors). My uni stopped allowing the bar course unless you had a pupillage lined up. Very hard to get unless you have a contact imo. I couldn't find a training contract at all and gave up in the end after spending thousands. My advice is get something setup before paying put for the post grad courses.

Well it is a teen DS - so depressing though it is, their career won't be derailed by sexism or halted by realities of childcare either 🤷‍♀️

I am a barrister. The posts above about it being insanely competitive to get in are correct. I assess pupillage applications and almost all candidates have firsts plus a load of other accomplishments. The applications now blow my mind.

The main thing is to have very, very strong academics. The next is to do something else to make your application stand out. Chambers get hundreds of applications per place. Many blind assess so they don't see name, age, school or university. Just results plus the answers to a few standard questions. In those answers it is quite hard to make yourself stand out, but you need to in order to get through to the interview stage.

It is also crucial to get legal work experience. Chambers offer mini-pupillages to give you a taste of chambers life. Vacation schemes in law firms are useful too.

@FrodoBiggins thank you. So from what I understand, if DS wanted to study history at degree level, he would need to do his degree, then law conversion (one year), then the Bar (one year?) then pupillage which is like apprenticeship? And from what you said he can potentially (if he's very lucky) secure a pupillage position before committing to the Bar?

@wigjockey thank you! Is a mini pupillage like work experience/shadowing?

Yep you've got it. I'd take a look at that online brochure thing I linked above which was produced the Inner Temple (one of our four professional associations, but the info is generic). It explains all the routes, timing, funding etc, and explains what mini-pupillage etc is. It contains some stuff about the history of the profession too which your son might find interesting!

Many universities have taster days / lectures and some online intro courses. Oxbridge and Sutton Trust run free residentials depending if fit criteria.

Yes. You go into chambers and shadow a barrister for a day or a few days. You will usually get asked to produce a piece of work or read some real case papers and give your view, or you might get to accompany the barrister to court.

My DB did law at oxbridge, loads of extra stuff but the bar was a really challenging path. He is working at a magic circle law firm on a three year programme and will decide in a few years if he wants to pursue that route.

There are other entries is what I'm saying

Are barristers minted?