I want to be a human rights barrister

Dear Oracle

I’ve just started the second year of my law degree and want to become a human rights barrister. I keep hearing people say that only Oxbridge students get pupillages. Is this true?

The Oracle replies

Although it is not only Oxbridge graduates who land pupillages at sets which handle high-profile human rights cases, the competition for these places is extremely high and chambers can pick and choose from among the very best candidates. Excellent academic credentials are essential for a career at the Bar, so rightly or wrongly, a good degree from a prestigious university is still advantageous. This means that Oxbridge graduates do indeed make up a significant proportion of barristers, which you can see by viewing the profiles on chambers’ websites for yourself. If you’re set on becoming a barrister in any area of law, you will need to work hard to achieve at least a good 2.1, or higher if possible.

We should also point out that human rights barristers operate at the very top of their profession and this is not something that you are likely to be able to specialise in as soon as you gain pupillage; human rights is not its own area of law as such, but is actually an aspect of many different kinds of law. Therefore a barrister who specialises in, for example, family law may encounter a case that involves human rights without being what you term a ‘human rights barrister’. Barristers we speak to often advise applicants and pupils to aim to keep their practices quite broad initially, as this is a good way to make sure you get handed cases and build up your experience. It’s important to be realistic and relatively open minded as you approach a career at the Bar.

You are also at an early stage in your legal studies and it's possible that you are making decisions about your future based on assumptions. The portrayal of lawyers in the media is slanted towards the Bar, and towards certain areas of practice, including human rights. Maybe you, like many students, find human rights issues are what get you fired up. In practice, they represent just a sliver of the profession's activities and consequently only a small sliver of the available training opportunities. Learn a little more about the UK legal landscape before nailing your colours to the mast - it could mean the difference between finding a training position and a string of dispiriting rejections. For example, roles elsewhere in the Bar and in the solicitors’ profession also involve helping people and may involve human rights elements at times.

Remember that for every nine students that become solicitors, only one will become a barrister. You should also be aware that Bar Standards Board statistics show that only around a quarter of BPTC students actually find pupillage.

To return to your original question, the Bar also recruits people from less prestigious universities, but they have typically performed extremely well in their studies and commonly there is something that distinguishes them from the hundreds of other hopefuls. It's not unusual to find barristers who have come via first careers: in the past we've encountered former services personnel, journalists, construction professionals, and even an ex-hairdresser and ex-bartender. Again, these people tend to have experiences that mark them out from the crowd.

Sadly, there is no fool-proof way of self-assessing your likelihood of success, but you can and should have a stab at understanding your strength as a candidate.

If you can answer yes to the following questions then be encouraged. If some 'no's crop up, perhaps a rethink is necessary.

1. Compared to your peers at school and university, are your academic grades among the best?
2. Do you participate in mooting and debating at the highest level available to you?
3. Are you a good communicator? (NB this doesn't mean 'are you quite opinionated?')
4. Have you researched the legal profession and started looking for work experience/mini pupillages?
5. Are you a self-reliant person who's got determination and a fairly thick skin?

For more on what the Bar Council has to say on this subject, visit its "Why become a barrister" pages or read the "No bar to the Bar" publication. Whatever you decide, make an informed choice, and good luck.