Bar Council salutes diversity-friendly training model

Reducing the financial risk of training for the Bar is key to bringing greater diversity to the profession, according to the Bar Council.

Commenting on the BSB's plans to make sure regulation does not add to training costs, Bar Council diversity chief, Sam Mercer said: "If you want to become a barrister, having the talent, ability and drive should be all that matter, not wealth or where you studied.

"Too many people from non-traditional backgrounds are understandably put off training for the Bar because the cost is prohibitive and the ratio of students to pupillages is so high."

The Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) tuition fees can cost upwards of £17,000, but less than a third of the 1,500 students who shell out have failed to obtain work at the Bar.

Speaking exclusively to SJ at the Global Law Summit, chairman of the Bar Alistair MacDonald QC said that students considering a career at the Bar should be realistic about their prospects but should not be put off.

"I think if that's what you really want to do, have a go, because there's nothing worse than somebody who has put off something they really want to do, and then throughout the rest of their life they wish they'd gone for it," he said.

MacDonald explained that even if student barristers fail to find a place in chambers, there are still many other opportunities open to them.

"More and more companies have lawyers on their boards, he said. "With all the regulatory requirements, there is a real need for lawyers in boardrooms. That's happening in America to a substantial extent and it's happening in this country too.

"There are real opportunities for lawyers…outside the traditional chambers structure. Even if you fail to get into chambers, then at least what you have is a qualification that is of value, that's admired by employers, and you can use it for different purposes."

To ensure standards keep pace with real-world change, the BSB plans to scale back regulations on how training is delivered, focusing instead on what barristers are able to do and giving chambers and Pupillage Training Organisations (PTOs) a bigger role in training design and delivery.

The Bar Council's training policy analyst Alex Bloom said it was essential that chambers taking on pupils were fully supported and that the training regime was not only credible, but maintains our reputation for excellence.

"The BSB has rightly identified 'high standards', 'essential skills', and 'access to training' as its three guiding principles and we will be following the consultation process and discussions on this with a very keen interest," he said.

John van der Luit-Drummond is legal reporter for Solicitors Journal