People working in the legal profession part 2 - Barristers
^ TOPBarristers
Barristers are one of the branches of qualified lawyers. Although the practice of an individual barrister in terms of actual workload may not be that much different from a particular solicitor, the structures they operate under are quite different.
Barristers, once qualified and in practice all have rights of audience in every court in England and Wales. Thus they can appear in any of the courts in which all solicitors can appear (county courts, magistrates courts) and also those courts in which only solicitors with a higher rights advocacy entitlement can appear (High Court, including the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords, Crown Court).
Many qualified barristers become employed as in-house legal representatives. Their principal role will be advisory. Barristers in practice doing cases sometimes move to be in-house representatives, and sometimes the movement is in the other direction.
Traditionally barristers are advocates. They are also legal specialists. That is not to say that an individual solicitor might not be a specialist advocate or indeed a legal expert. It is just that traditionally barristers concentrate on those particular areas.
^ TOPVaried practice
The practice of any barrister can vary enormously. A barrister whose speciality is tax or trusts might go to court once in a blue moon, and spend most of his time advising or drafting documents. A barrister doing crime will probably be in court virtually every day, and although doing paperwork such as advices, will find that most of their work is either preparing cases or actually doing them . Other barristers will find that their work can go through phases. Between being in court nearly all the time, or virtually never in court and mostly doing advisory work, the practice of individual barristers will cover the entire spectrum.
^ TOPSole practitioners
Barristers in practice are all sole practitioners. They operate through chambers, but each barrister in chambers will only be paid for the cases and advices that they actually do, and they do not share receipts or profits. (They are not allowed to under the bar rules, and are not at the present time allowed to be partners). In a solicitors firm solicitors may be employed in which case they will have a salary, or be partners, in which case they will take their set percentage of profit (or be paid in accordance with whatever the agreement is) regardless of whether they have actually done those cases. Barristers operate differently. Although therefore there is obviously a common interest amongst barristers in the same chambers in promoting that chambers, in a very real sense a firm of 70 solicitors is one business, (owned perhaps by the say 15 solicitors who are partners), and the chambers of 70 barristers is 70 different businesses.
^ TOPHead of chambers
Chambers will have a head of chambers who plays an important role. However this is very different from the senior partner in a firm of solicitors. The head of chambers will be given certain powers and the chambers constitution as regards the operation of chambers, but they do not control the practice of other barristers within those chambers. The senior partner in a firm of solicitors has a much greater degree of control. (Subject to the terms of the partnership agreement). Also the head of chambers is not paid for being head, and like all the others is paid solely for the cases and advices he or she does. A senior partner may still be drawing a significant profit share, but spending all working hours on administration or marketing rather than billable work. The differing positions reflect the fact that a solicitors firm is one business and a barristers chambers is not.
^ TOPInstructions
As regards court work barristers can only be instructed through a solicitors firm. Designated professionals (surveyors and the like) can instruct barristers direct on advisory work, as can certain clients accepted for direct access work. Most advisory work still comes through solicitors. Thus for the client, he will nearly always be going to a solicitor first. Whether he uses an advocate within the solicitors firm, or goes to a barrister, will be decided upon by the client after discussion with the solicitor.
^ TOPQualification
After completing the law degree, the aspiring barrister goes on to do bar finals. Traditionally once the student passes those, then he or she is entitled to be called a barrister. (This is presently under review, on the basis that some consider that you should have done pupillage in order to be able to be called a barrister). In order to practise however, you go on to do pupillage in a Chambers for 12 months. During pupillage another barrister acts as your pupil master, and helps train you as to what to do and how to do it. For the first six months you are just learning. In the second six you can do your own work (both advices and cases) but you are still being trained. Only junior barristers can be pupil masters, and you cannot be a pupil master any more once you are a QC. When I was a second six pupil master I used to go through all the work that my pupils had, and if they had a case of their own to do I would make sure I had read it so that I could check that they were going to present it in right way. Similarly with an advice.
As you will probably already know, barristers are the ones who where the wigs and gowns. Robes are only required in certain hearings, such as the Crown Court or High Court or County Court trials.