Going to the Bar?
updated on 22 October 2013
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
Don't mistake your dream job for a realistic ambition. You are 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," advises Kaplan Law School's head of careers, Gemma Baker.
Even a decision to try for the Bar represents a narrowing of your odds on gaining training. 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. "Plenty of students harbour dreams of the Bar when they are probably better suited to and more likely to achieve a career as a solicitor," Gemma cautions.
"The Bar is incredibly difficult to break into unless you're a superstar, in which case the top sets will be all over you like a rash. Whether the 'Oxbridge' factor should make a difference to your chances is one thing; whether it does make a difference is another. You only need look at the biographies of junior barristers at the most successful sets to see that these two universities' graduates dominate," says Kaplan's Bar careers adviser, Anna Williams. Visits to university law fairs around the country confirm that leading sets tend to make more of an effort to market themselves to Oxford, Cambridge and the other top universities, so you will inevitably be in competition with many excellent candidates from these institutions. Rightly or wrongly, students from the most prestigious universities still have an edge.
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. "One great way to make yourself stand out is to excel at mooting and debating, and to do a lot of it," suggests Anna. 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.
- Compared to your peers at school and university, are your academic grades among the best?
- Do you participate in mooting and debating at the highest level available to you?
- Are you a good communicator? (NB this doesn't mean 'are you quite opinionated?')
- Have you researched the legal profession and started looking for work experience/mini pupillages?
- Are you a self-reliant person who's got determination and a fairly thick skin?
You can learn more about what it's like to be a human rights barrister by reading our practice area profile. Our feature on the core competencies that chambers (and law firms) assess offers detailed information on the experiences and qualities that you will need to become a barrister. We also have in-depth information on the Inns of Court and - if you do decide to pursue a career at the Bar - advice on how to approach a pupillage interview.
For more on what the Bar Council has to say on this subject, visit its "Why become a barrister?" website. Whatever you decide, make an informed choice, and good luck.
