Financial Difficulties of Young Barristers in Northern Ireland

Many young Barristers in Northern Ireland are on the breadline according to an internal survey carried out by the Young Bar Association ahead of their first ever conference, being held at the Inn of Court on Friday 24th January 2014.

According to Michael Forde, Chairman of the Young Bar Association, he conducted an anonymous financial survey last autumn of those who had entered the profession in the last four years, which revealed that:

• almost 27% of those who responded made a loss of up to £10,000
• while 20% made less than £10,000
• just 5% made a profit of up to £15,000
• almost all respondents had student loan debts of between £5,000 and £30,000

“A large number of young Barristers are relying on second jobs to sustain a practice at the Bar but as the Department of Justice has proposed very deep cuts to legal aid in criminal, family and civil cases the opportunities for work are decreasing. Inevitably this will mean that careers are limited and recruitment from those graduating in law will diminish further,” he explained.

“We want to sustain a viable profession which performs effectively and efficiently for the public. It is hoped that this Conference will start the conversation on how this is to be achieved.”

The theme of the Conference - The Bar in 2020: Our Vision for the Future is to register the fact that in 2020 the pupils who were called to the Bar in 2013 will no longer be members of the Young Bar. To ensure a future for the 2013 pupils, and for the Bar generally, a long term strategy is needed.

Mark Mulholland QC, Chairman of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland, said that these statistics were harrowing and would not be getting better in the short to medium term.

“As a Bar Council we are looking at where the future of the profession lies and how we can accommodate the aspirations of our most talented young people. This is a serious problem in the long term for our justice system.

“Yet while everyone in authority is focused on short term financial costs, and indeed we are working on how they are addressed, we are not having the most important debate and that is the opportunity for women, children, families and the poorest in society to get appropriate legal representation when they need it.”

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