One of the irritations of starting a career in the law is the almost universal assumption by family and friends that all lawyers are as rich as Croesus, and as such, you can most certainly afford to buy them a drink. This assumption was fuelled recently by the news that One Essex Court, the barristers' chambers, were to pay their pupils £60,000 in their first year. But is the stereotype of the highly paid junior barrister an accurate one?

Before pupil barristers receive their first pay cheque, they will have had to complete either a law degree or conversion course, followed by the Bar Vocational Course. Given the highly competitive nature of obtaining pupillage, with hundreds of applicants per place, many will go on to study for further postgraduate degrees or take on pro bono work to distinguish their applications. Many fail to ever obtain pupillage and incur huge debts along the way. Those who are successful, often start their careers with crippling levels of debt.

Although One Essex Court took on four pupils at £60,000 this year, most of the other 500 pupils who started, received considerably less funding. In 2000, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, sitting in the Court of Appeal, decided that pupil barristers are not covered by the National Minimum Wage Act. After this decision, the Bar Council introduced a compulsory pupillage award, which was set at a minimum of £10,000 a year (£833.33 a month), in the hope of ensuring that pupillage was accessible to those students without the means to fund themselves. This compares with the minimum salary for trainee solicitors, which is £18,590, and £16,650 for those outside London.

Once pupil barristers get six months into pupillage, they are allowed to take on some of their own work, subject to supervision. For criminal pupils, this is often poorly paid, as well as being subject to severe delays. One pupil at a set of chambers in London, agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. “There can be a considerable delay between completing hearings and receiving fees. It is not unusual to wait more than six months for a £50 magistrates' court fee to be paid, and cash flow is one of the biggest problems facing the junior barristers who undertaking work in the magistrates' court.

"I provide a vital public service that can be stressful, complicated and involves working with very difficult clients and situations. I love my job and am willing to provide that service for little financial gain, after all I came to the Bar with full knowledge of the financial difficulties and long hours ahead. Nevertheless at the end of a 14-hour day, possibly involving 200 miles of travel, it is very disappointing to find myself being portrayed by the press as yet another fat-cat lawyer."

Another pupil who practises in civil and criminal work at a regional set of chambers notes wryly that, “quite frankly, I would earn more working full-time in a supermarket or fast-food chain and wouldn't have amassed the same debt. There have been some months where solicitors have paid me only £200 to £300”.

When compared to their peers who choose to become solicitors, even the best paid pupil barristers are left in the shade. Trainee solicitors apply up to two years before starting at their firm, and often their pay award will include the fees for their legal education before joining the firm, in addition to a maintenance grant. While this varies between firms, it is not unusual for a firm to spent £40,000 before the trainee has even done a days work for them.

No one is forced into becoming a barrister, and there is no doubt that the top end of the Bar can be extremely lucrative. But the junior Bar is a fiercely competitive arena, and it is vitally important that the inaccurate public perception of the conditions across the profession is addressed.

The author is a pupil barrister at Hardwicke Building

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