Just over half (53%) of future barristers at top sets went to Oxford or Cambridge, with only 11% coming from non-Russell Group universities, according to new research.
Mirroring long-held industry speculation, the research suggests that Commercial and Chancery sets were most likely to recruit from these elite universities, with family, common law and crime sets more likely to have pupils from a range of universities.
Academic success remains crucial for those looking to break into this competitive profession, with 77% of pupil barristers gaining a first-class honours degree.
Half of pupils studied non-law degrees, with history, modern languages and classics the most common.
Those from fee-paying school continued to make up a disproportionately high number of pupils at 42%.
Only 6% of pupils say they chose their career path for the money, with the most popular reason being ‘the intellectual challenge’ (30%), followed by the importance of a rewarding career and ‘making the world a better place’, both reasons given by 16% of pupils.
The findings have been published in an annual report on careers at the Bar, published by Chambers, the leading legal rankings and insights intelligence company. It surveyed 166 pupils and junior barristers working at 33 top chambers in the UK.
The research found that the average pupil took part in six mini-pupillages before gaining a pupillage, with each lasting two to five days. If successful, they were likely, on average, to be working 53-hour weeks – even higher than the long hours worked by their solicitor counterparts at Magic Circle firms.
The average pupillage award stood at £76,000 but fees earned by those doing publicly funded civil, criminal or family law were much lower.
In a field requiring so much perseverance and commitment, it is not surprising that the vast majority see the Bar as a career for life – 91% saw taking silk as a realistic aspiration at their set.
Cait Evans, global talent head of research at Chambers and Partners, says: “Aspiring barristers face huge competition for pupillages with top academics from a prestigious university a prerequisite at most top sets.
“Oxbridge graduates still predominate and despite considerable efforts to promote social mobility at the Bar, a disproportionate number of pupils still went to fee-paying schools. This is perhaps unsurprising when we look at how long the journey to a career at the Bar can be, with considerable financial outlays along the way.
“Those who make it demonstrate huge commitment to the profession and our research shows that in the early days of their careers at least, they see themselves working at the Bar for life, with almost all aspiring to take silk.”
For further details, please see the full report: Chambers student’s guide to a career at the Bar.
