Statistics

Demographic profile of the Bar

Annual data refers to the situation in December of that year.

Bi-annual data is taken over the course of the legal year (1 October - 30 September)

Queen's Counsel (Silk) barristers

All practising barristers

Self employed barristers

Queen's Counsel (Silk) barristers

Suitably experienced barristers can apply to the Queen's Counsel Selection Panel, who make recommendations on the basis of excellence in advocacy in the higher courts.

For further information please see: http://www.qcappointments.org

Self employed Queen's Counsel

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Self employed Queen's Counsel	1,278	1,223	1,273	1,318	1,397

Self employed Queen's Counsel by gender

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Male	1,160	1,107	1,146	1,179	1,245
Female	118	116	127	139	152

Queen's Counsel by ethnicity

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
BME	46	44	49	57	68
White	1,169	1,120	1,166	1,207	1,273
No data	63	59	58	54	56

All practising barristers

Barristers are entitled to hold a practising certificate upon their successful completion of pupillage. This is renewed annually and grants barristers the right to practice as barristers. All barristers with practising certificates may work as self employed or employed. The majority are self employed.

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Total barristers in practice	14,890	15,030	15,182	15,270	15,387

All practising barristers by gender

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Male	9,920	9,924	9,999	10,011	10,033
Female	4,970	5,106	5,183	5,259	5,354

All practising barristers by ethnicity

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
BME	1,432	1,466	1,493	1,545	1,564
White	11,347	11,421	11,580	11,721	11,885
No data	2,111	2,143	2,109	2,004	1,938

Self-employed barristers

Self-employed barristers work in chambers (which employ administrative and management staff funded by members' 'rent') or work alone as sole practitioners.

All self-employed barristers

This includes sole practitioners and barristers practising in chambers

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
All self employed barristers	12,034	12,058	12,136	12,241	12,420

Sole practitioners

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Sole practitioners	298	309	351	391	419

All self-employed barristers by gender

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Male	8,381	8,327	8,364	8,381	8,443
Female	3,653	3,731	3,772	3,860	3,977

All self-employed barristers by ethnicity

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
BME	1,098	1,109	1,132	1,175	1,203
White	9,474	9,489	9,573	9,724	9,907
No data	1,462	1,460	1,431	1,342	1,310

Employed barristers

Employed barristers are practising barristers who are employed by a 'Recognised Body', either under a contract of employment (e.g. with a private company) or by virtue of an office under the Crown (such as the Crown Prosecution Service) or the institutions of the European Communities.

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Employed barristers	2,856	2,972	3,046	3,029	2,967

Employed barristers by gender

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Male	1,539	1,597	1,635	1,630	1,590
Female	1,317	1,375	1,411	1,399	1,377

Employed barristers by ethnicity

	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
BME	334	357	361	370	361
White	1,873	1,932	2,007	1,997	1,978
No data	649	683	678	662	628

Pupil barristers

Pupillage is a compulsory one-year training period spent in an authorised pupillage training organisation (PTO): either barristers' chambers or another approved legal environment). For further information, please see http://www.pupillages.com

Pupil barristers by gender

	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11
Male	276	250	238	261	280	184	241
Female	251	261	264	249	210	223	181
No data	29	4	25	52	25	53	22

Pupil barrister by ethnicity

	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11
BME	88	85	107	105	68	71	58
White	434	423	394	394	420	333	349
No data	34	7	26	54	27	56	37

Pupil barristers by university attended

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

Oxford/

Cambridge

161

(31%)

147

(29%)

161

(32%)

161

(32%)

157

(32%)

109

(24%)

155

(34.9%)

Russell Group (without Oxbridge)

165

(32%)

177

(35%)

174

(35%)

189

(37%)

164

(34%)

103

(22%)

123

(27.7%)

All other universities

197

(37%)

185

(36%)

162

(33%)

158

(31%)

164

(34%)

195

(42%)

122

(27.4%)

No data

n/a

(12%)

(10%)

Pupil barristers by degree classification

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

First

127

(21.4%)

108

(21.1%)

149

(29.6%)

147

(28.8%)

160

(32.7%)

108

(23.5%)

155

(34.9%)

Upper second

310

(58.8%)

329

(64.3%)

296

(58.8%)

320

(62.7%)

273

(55.7%)

243

(52.8%)

242

(53.5%)

Lower second

(13.9%)

(13.3%)

(9.5%)

(5.7%)

(8.6%)

(8.5%)

(4.1%)

Third

(1.1%)

(0.4%)

(0.2%)

(0.8%)

(2.2%)

(0.4%)

(0.2%)

Other

(1.5%)

(0.2%)

(0.4%)

(1.6%)

(0.8%)

(2%)

(0.9%)

Missing

n/a

(12.8%)

(5.4%)

Chambers

Chambers are offices from which more than one self employed barristers practise, sharing administrative teams and other office costs. Newly Called barristers wanting to pursue self-employed practise seek 'pupillage' within chambers, during which time they are supervised by a more senior barristers and start to take on their cases.

All chambers in England and Wales

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Chambers in London	310	323	332	330	342	347
Chambers outside of London	296	318	312	313	348	387
Total number of chambers	606	641	644	643	690	734

Entry to the Bar

Start date (academic year)	Applications for pupillage	First Six	Second Six	New tenants	New Employee's
1998/1999	n/a	541
1999/2000	n/a	511
2000/2001	n/a	695	700	535
2001/2002	n/a	812*	724	541
2002/2003	n/a	586	702	698
2003/2004	n/a	518	557	601	182
2004/2005	n/a	556	598	544	156
2005/2006	n/a	515	567	531	191
2006/2007	n/a	527	563	499	228
2007/2008	n/a	562	555	494	239
2008/2009	2,802	462	518	497	213
2009/2010	2,841	460	495	467	171
2010/2011	2,865	446	477	x	x

* NB due to 30 September 2002 falling on a Monday, 112 pupillages which would normally have been registered in the 2002/3 year were registered in the 2001/2 year, causing the higher than usual figure for that year and the lower than usual figure for 2002/3.

BPTC statistics

Once they have completed a law degree or graduate law conversion course, the BPTC is the second stage of academic training for the Bar and equips students with the skills, knowledge, attitudes and competence required for a career at the Bar.
For further information and to apply, please see Online application for BPTC.

For more details on BPTC applicants in 2009/10, please see 'An analysis of the backgrounds of BPTC applicants in 2009/10'

For more details on students enrolled full time on the 2009/10 BVC, please see An analysis of full-time students enrolled on the 2009/10 BVC

BPTC Year	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12
Applicants	2,570	2,883	2,917	2,870	2,864	2,540	2,657	3,100	3,016
Enrolments	1,449	1,665	1,745	1,932	1,837	1,749	1,793	1,618	1,669
Successful	1,251	1,392	1,480	1,560	1,720	1,330	1,432	n/a	n/a

Called to the Bar

'Call' is the date at which barrister are formally recognised to have passed the vocational stage of training have been admitted to the Bar.

	2005/06	2006/07	2007/008	2008/09	2009/10
All Called to the Bar	1,640	1,736	1,742	1,772	1,852

Gender profile of those Called to the Bar

	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Male	794	909	832	851	876
Female	846	870	919	921	977

Ethnic profile of those Called to the Bar

	2005/06	2006/07	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
BME	413	504	670	721	819
White	830	859	1,052	1,020	1,006
No data	397	413	20	31	28