England: Career at the bar ‘less appealing, or even viable’ for new entrants

England: Career at the bar 'less appealing, or even viable' for new entrants

A career at the bar is becoming “less appealing, or even viable” for new entrants, according to a report by LexisNexis.

The company’s survey found that despite the fact that nearly three quarters of respondents said their practices had either remained stable or grown, compared to three years ago, barristers were pessimistic about the future of the profession.

Sixty-seven per cent of 768 respondents said they expected their practice to remain stable or to grow in the next three to five years.

Seventy per cent of them were 41 or older, which the survey said “may explain why they seem so confident in their own prospects, yet so uncertain about the future of the bar as a whole. Having built up a strong practice over many years, they may feel more immune to broad trends.”

Barristers said the greatest problem facing the bar was managing wellbeing and resilience.

“The hours are getting even longer, the fees are getting even smaller, the volume of admin is growing more cumbersome due to regulation and clients are becoming more demanding, with many expecting a 24/7 service from their barrister.”

Criminal and family barristers expressed a fear that the criminal bar may be entirely wiped out due to legal aid cuts with almost 30 per cent of all barristers rating it as their most critical issue.

The second greatest problem was cited as rising costs.

“Nearly 40 per cent of respondents rated it among their top three most critical challenges. For those just starting out, those costs include rising tuition fees and living costs.”

Practitioners also complained about the emergence of fixed costs and the persistent problem of late payment of fees.

One barrister said: “It is incredible that aged debt is an accepted reality in this profession. If a builder or plumber was not paid within 28 days, it would be seen as completely unacceptable.”

Another said: “There is a lot of publicity given to wellbeing at the bar but if we all received payment within 30 days this would alleviate one of the biggest wellbeing problems.”

A third said: “The race to the bottom on fee structures does not benefit the client. The worst practitioners do the work cheapest.”

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