Funding

The Cost of Training
Sources of Funding
Funding Pupillage
What Barristers Earn

Training as a barrister will certainly require careful financial planning. It can be a costly process, and you may find that, during the training period and for the first few years of practice, you have less money than your peers who become solicitors or join other professions. There is clearly a risk in investing your time and money into training as a barrister and you should think carefully before embarking on this path.

However, if you are dedicated to becoming a barrister, you should not let financial hurdles put you off. There is a large amount of financial assistance available. Furthermore, depending on the area of law in which you intend to practise, you could be earning the same or more than your peers in other professions within a short space of time. Also remember that, if you don’t get pupillage or tenancy, your qualifications and experience will be valuable assets in many alternative careers.

Funding is available to the most able. The Inns provide in excess of £3m per annum and the banks will lend legal career development loans to strong candidates. Between them the Inns provide over 350 scholarships and bursaries and the banks more than 100 legal career development loans. There are currently approximately 500 pupillages so the best students should be able to obtain adequate funding but it is exceptionally competitive.