The Bar, which is what most people call the job of a barrister, is becoming more diverse, which is pushing the best and brightest people from all walks of life to join. Read on to find out more about how to become a barrister in the UK.

Who is a Barrister?

Independent, professional legal advisers and advocates, barristers help individuals and businesses in knowing, choosing, and defending their legal rights. In the UK, barristers are supposed to provide their clients with independent legal advice and to be authorities in court advocacy. Most barristers in the UK work for themselves and in chambers.

Their most famous activities are possibly court presentations of legal arguments dressed in gowns and wigs. But a career at the Bar is far more than that. Some will not regularly show up in court, and many courts no longer demand donning gowns and wigs, highlighting the evolving nature of how to become a barrister.

How Long Does Barrister Training Take?

The traditional barrister training process, requiring a qualifying law degree, bar course, and pupillage, takes a minimum of five years when followed to completion.

For those exploring how to become a barrister after pursuing a non-legal degree, a law conversion program adds an additional year, extending the minimum timeframe to six years.

How to Become a Barrister?

Training to become a barrister consists of these four steps:

1. Academic:

Studying a law degree, such as our LLB or LLB with Business, is part of this phase. You can still become a barrister if you don’t have a law degree, but you’ll need to finish a conversion course. Usually, this will take a year. 

Because of the competitiveness of this field, you should strive for a 2:1 first-class or upper-second-class grade. Check out our tutorial on how to interpret your university grades.

The sooner you plan your legal studies, the better your chances of success. Enrollmate can help you shortlist courses and universities designed to prepare you for the bar.

2. Vocational

The next crucial step in how to become a barrister is the vocational stage, where you will now finish the one-year bar course at a provider of vocational courses. This can be done as an integrated LLM, full-time or part-time.

Twelve weeks before your start date, you must have joined one of the Inns of Court to be eligible to practice law. Additionally, you can ask your inn for a “mentor” or “sponsor” who can give you advice or introduce you to life at the bar. To get access to a mentor or sponsor, several inns need you to submit at least one pupillage application.

You will be ‘called to the Bar’ after clearing this vocational component, where you will be celebrated in a ceremony like a graduation. However, until you finish a pupillage, you cannot practice.

3. Work-Based Learning

The practical portion of how to become a barrister is called a pupillage. Here, a student supervisor will be assigned to you, and you may shadow them or work under their supervision.

Usually, the government or a few other organizations that give pupillages spend this time in the chambers of barristers. Your pupillage must be funded by the chambers.

Pupils typically work full-time for 12 months or part-time for 24 months. You can take the lead on your own cases during the second six months of practice, which follows the first six months of non-practice.

After completing the bar training course, you have five years to obtain a pupillage. You can request an extension from the Bar Standards Board if you are unable to get a pupillage.

4. Practice

You can now find a permanent practice space referred to as “tenancy.”

Tenancy can typically be obtained in the chambers where you finished your pupillage. But because it’s so competitive, you can apply for a six-month probationary tenancy somewhere if you don’t get the job.

Many barristers become members of the Bar later in life, after having studied or worked in a different area. The vast majority of barristers become lawyers after studying law, but a lot of them have studied other topics first and then taken a course to become lawyers.

Requirements:

• The seven elements of legal information and the skills needed for graduate legal work, such as legal research, must be part of your law degree or GDL.
• If you want to, you can join an Inn before you start your professional training, but you have to do that first.
• Some AETOs have courses that let you combine the training for the bar with work experience. Not all of them lead to a law degree, and some are meant to be taken after getting another degree that isn’t in law.
• You can start your first six months of pupillage before being called to the bar, but not your second. This is because you will be working as a lawyer under the guidance of your Pupil Supervisor during your second six months.

Lawyers who are licensed in a different country, like solicitors in England and Wales or lawyers from other countries, may not have to do all of these things, depending on their experience and skills. Learn about becoming a solicitor on the Law Society’s website.

Working Hours for Barristers:

Courts usually meet at set times during the day, but barristers often have to work long, unsocial hours at night and on the weekends, especially when they are just starting out and building their reputation.

Responsibilities for a Barrister:

There are a lot of different responsibilities that a barrister has, depending on what kind of law they practice. For example:

• A criminal barrister’s daily work usually includes a lot of speaking up in court, making points, and questioning witnesses.
• A family law barrister may spend a lot of time managing negotiations to settle disagreements outside of court while also representing clients in court.
• Chancery barristers specialize in areas like property and trusts. They usually handle fewer cases and spend less time in court, instead focusing on careful planning and giving expert legal advice. Even with these differences, everyone in the field has to do the same basic things. Other responsibilities include getting instructions from clients and lawyers, learning and interpreting all the relevant legal principles, and mastering and managing the details of legal briefs with great care.

Barristers do more than just work on individual cases. They also help run their chambers by hiring new students and renters and making sure they get along with everyone. This keeps the professional community strong and growing.

Last Word:

As a barrister, you can help people and businesses by protecting justice and offering competent legal advice. If you’re ready to take the first step toward becoming a barrister, start planning your studies today and let your journey into the legal world begin.