What is a barrister and what do they do?

This guide aims to give an introduction to what barristers do and some basic information about the legal system in England & Wales. It therefore contains some generalisations and simplifications to make it easier to understand. There are always exceptions to the rule!

In England & Wales there are three types of qualified lawyer (Scotland and Northern Ireland have slightly different legal systems). These are barristers, solicitors and chartered legal executives. The term lawyer is not a specialist title and indeed anyone could call themselves a lawyer without getting into trouble. The terms barrister, solicitor and chartered legal executive are protected and anyone who calls themselves a barrister or solicitor without being properly qualified is breaking the law. This article focuses on barristers.

Barristers tend to specialise in courtroom advocacy, that is putting forward their client’s case to a judge and/or jury in a legal court. Barristers need to speak confidently, persuasively but also concisely as people, including judges, don’t have patience for long-winded speeches. A barrister’s main job is to try to persuade the judge or jury to decide in favour of their client.

Barristers other main role is to be a specialist in their chose field. Solicitors often ask barristers to draft (write) complicated documents required in cases or to give an opinion as to what the likely outcome might be in a case. Barristers work in all legal areas, but the most common four areas are crime, family, civil and employment law. Each of these practice areas has a specialist type of court that deals with its work.

Criminal practice concerns when crimes are committed. Criminal prosecutions are run by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who prosecute crimes on behalf of the Queen. Barristers work both for the CPS prosecuting crimes and defending people accused of crimes. Criminal trials are the normal type of case seen in TV dramas with barristers wearing wigs and flowing black gowns in front of a judge and jury. 

For most cases in civil, family and employment courts there is a little less formality. There will not be a jury only a judge, and the barristers will wear a suit and tie with no wig or gown.

Family law concerns the protection of children and the breakdown of relationships. Public family law cases are proceedings brought by a council’s social services department, often seeking to remove children from their families and take them into care or arrange adoption. Private family law cases concern disputes about which parent a child should live with or when they should see each parent. Family law barristers also deal with financial separation in divorces.

Civil law deals with disputes between individuals and/or companies. It can range from very minor whiplash injury claims after a car accident to multi-million pound disputes between international companies. It includes disputes about land or houses, faulty goods or work done badly and arguments about wills after people die. Part of civil law, but sometimes treated as a separate legal area is chancery law. The chancery court is now called the Business and Property Court which gives a better understanding of what it does and which cases might be specialist chancery work.

Employment law, as the name suggests, deals with issues related to people’s jobs.

Most barristers are self-employed and are part of a chambers (also called a “set”), although some may be employed by the CPS or firms of solicitors. A chambers is a group of barristers who agree to pool their resources to pay for an office with staff to run it and to pay for resources and utilities.

The qualifications for barristers are in the process of being reformed, so the following may be out of date in years to come. Presently to qualify as a barrister you need a degree in law or a degree in another subject plus a Graduate Diploma in Law which is a one-year course cramming in the basics principles and knowledge of the law. After this you study a specialist skills and knowledge course which is often referred to as the Bar Course but confusingly has different titles at different universities. It was previously known as the Bar Vocational Course (until 2010) and the Bar Practitioners Training Course (until 2019). This course combines the rules of court and further legal study with practical skills such as advocacy and written skills that a barrister requires. 

The final stage of qualification is pupillage. Pupillage is ‘on the job’ learning overseen by a pupil supervisor who is an experienced barrister. The competition for pupillage is very intense with fewer than 400 pupillages available in some years and up to 5,000 applying for them. It is estimated that up to half of all candidates who pass the Bar Course fail to ever obtain a pupillage so do not qualify as barristers. The training in pupillage involves six months following the pupil supervisor and other qualified barristers in their work, learning from them, followed by six months of conducting your own cases under the supervision of your pupil supervisor. Most pupillages are offered by chambers although some other organisations offer pupillages such as the CPS and a small number of solicitors firms.

JAMIE JOHNSTON

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/jamiejohnstonbarrister/