Major survey of the Bar results revealed

Efforts to tackle bullying, harassment and discrimination in the barristers’ profession will continue to be a priority for the Bar Council following the results of a new survey of barristers’ working lives which shows a rise in reports of inappropriate behaviour since 2017.

The Bar Council’s 2021 Working Lives Survey also found that barristers welcomed flexible working patterns, that the criminal Bar continued to be hit hard by the fall-out from the pandemic, and that opposition to court extended operating hours remains high.  

From belly dancing to the Bar – 11 new Social Mobility Advocates unveiled

A new group of barristers from across England and Wales, known as Social Mobility Advocates, have joined the Bar Council’s award-winning social mobility campaign #IAmTheBar, now in its fourth year.

All the Advocates have had non-traditional paths to the Bar. They came from working class or low-income households, attended state schools, worked to fund their training and education. From growing up in the climate of Ghana’s repressive military regime to moonlighting as a belly dancer, they represent the incredible breadth of experience that exists at the Bar.

Bar’s gender income gap grew over last 20 years

New Bar Council analysis of Bar Mutual income data has shown that the gap between average gross incomes of men and women at the Bar has widened over the last 20 years. The research also shows gender income differences by each practice area of law at the Bar.

The Bar Council is to rollout a programme of work focusing on the distribution of work, including briefing practices, practice management guidance, measures to tackle discrimination and inappropriate behaviours and more.

Welsh Bar joins climate initiative

Chambers in Wales, Pendragon and 30 Park Place, are the latest sets to sign up to the Bar Council’s Sustainability Network, the first sets in Wales to do so. The network provides a range of services and support for chambers, Inns and others to help the transition to a more sustainable way of working.

Justice system needs extra £2.48b, says Bar Council

The Bar Council has warned the Treasury that an extra £2.48billion is needed to fix the struggling justice system after a decade of cuts has resulted in an insurmountable backlog in the criminal courts and long delays, as well as an under resourced publicly funded Bar.

The Bar Council has also called on the government to include justice in its ambitious levelling up agenda. The calls for action are part of the Bar Council’s submission to the government’s Spending Review.

Bar Council urges action as Crown Court backlog soars

The exodus of barristers from criminal practice, coupled with yet another quarterly increase in the number of cases waiting to be heard in the Crown Court, is further evidence that the justice system needs long-term investment, the Bar Council has warned. The latest criminal court statistics showed the Crown Court backlog had increased to more than 60,000 cases in the second quarter of 2021.

Pupillage Gateway: number of applicants rising each year

A new Bar Council report on the Pupillage Gateway, the recruitment portal for the Bar, has revealed that the number of pupillages offered on the Gateway has recovered post-pandemic but is not back to pre-pandemic levels. The number of applicants per Gateway advertisement continues to increase year on year, and applicants with a scholarship from one of the Inns of Court were significantly more likely to receive an offer of pupillage than those without.

The Bar of the future: inaccessible and unsustainable?

Chair of the Inns of Court Bar Educational Trust (ICBET)

The Council of the Inns of Court (COIC) wish to appoint a new Chair for ICBET to replace the Hon. Mrs Justice Tipples DBE, who is retiring from this role on 31 December 2021.  

The Bar Council’s Direct Access Panel

The Bar Council is seeking two practising barristers to join its Direct Access Panel.

Bar Council Law Reform Lecture

Exploring the role of law reform in the context of climate change

30 November, online

The 19th Annual Bar Council Law Reform Lecture will be given by The Rt. Hon. Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill and Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.

The Bar Council's Pupillage Fair 2021

16 October 2021, 13:00–14:00

Designed in partnership with the Inns of Court and Specialist Bar Associations, the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair is the largest recruitment event for students and graduates aspiring to join the Bar of England and Wales. Free of charge and held entirely online, this year’s event will give Bar hopefuls the chance to engage with practising barristers, find out about their work and gain insight into what a career at the Bar involves.

Registration is now open for aspiring barristers to book their place at this year's virtual Pupillage Fair.

Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2021: Recovery, growth and transformation

17 - 20 November 2021

Book your place to hear from expert speakers on topics including the impact of traumatic casework on barristers, the future of technology in the justice system, improving diversity through fairer distribution of work, how barristers can use social media effectively, the role of journalism in the legal system and more.

Discounts are available for students, pupils, barristers in income bands 1-2 and Bar Representation Fee (BRF) subscribers.

Tackling race inequality

The Race Equality Foundation is proud to be working to tackle race inequality across public services in the UK, in Black History Month and all year round. For years, the Foundation has produced research and policy interventions around inequalities in health, housing and other areas, and run grassroots community-based programmes. 

All of the Foundation's work helps to improve the lives of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Please consider supporting its work by making a donation.

Can you help an innocent person wrongly convicted?

There are innocent people in our prisons who, without Inside Justice, would be bereft of support. The number applying to Inside Justice has doubled in two years to over 650 from across England & Wales and the charity is in need of your help. Please consider supporting this small charity by donating to its new crowd justice campaign.

Team Bar Council to walk 10k

On the 18 October a team from the Bar Council will be walking the London Legal Walk 10km in aid of the London Legal Support Trust.