Employed barristers cite compelling financial and work/life balance benefits

The Bar Council has released research showing that for employed barristers, some of the key factors behind the decision to go in house include financial security, a good work/life balance, pension arrangements, and an interesting and diverse range of work.

The report, based on a survey of 300 employed barristers, also revealed that the average salary of those at the employed Bar was £69,466. Just 6% received a gross salary of over £150,000, and of those, 50% worked in-house at a company. Respondents also cited, among other things, a less stressful environment and better work/life balance, a collegiate atmosphere and a variety of traditional employee benefits (eg, maternity and holiday pay).

On the flipside, the report revealed that employed barristers felt that they were perceived, at times, as being less capable than those who were self-employed. Many also felt that there was a lack of encouragement for employed barristers to seek Silk status or to join the judiciary. The report made recommendations to address this and other perceptions by putting forward steps to ensure that employed barristers felt part of the “one Bar” philosophy.

Chairman of the Bar, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, said: “This report helps us to identify the factors that draw some barristers to the employed Bar. It also provides a useful insight into perceptions of the employed Bar of their kinship with the rest of the profession and gives us and the wider Bar food for thought about how we can ensure the employed Bar feel part of the ‘one Bar’ philosophy. Barristers have a lot to contribute both in employed and self-employed practice. Our members play a critical and valuable role inside public bodies, companies, charities and other organisations where the skills and values which they bring as members of the bar can be invaluable to employers. This survey shows that the work of the employed Bar is no less important than that of the self-employed Bar.”

Michael Jennings, chairman of the Bar Council’s Employed Barristers’ Committee, said: “The in-house route for barristers is an increasingly attractive career option for many. However, the report shows there is more to be done in law schools, the Inns and elsewhere to inform tomorrow’s Bar of the benefits of joining the employed Bar. […]The whole Bar and the wider legal sector needs a culture shift away from seeing employed barristers as somehow not barristers in the traditional sense.”