The overall levels of wellbeing and job satisfaction of barristers continue to improve but the Chair of the Bar Council says there is still a lot of work to do.
Results from the Bar Council’s Wellbeing at the Bar report 2025 show that all 4 main wellbeing measures* are higher than the previous survey, with 69% of respondents reporting they have good job satisfaction, compared to 61% in 2023.
Other key findings include:
• Although 64% of respondents agreed they currently were in a good mood, over a quarter indicated they tended to feel down or in low spirits (29%). Both findings are improvements on the 2023 survey, where the figures were 60% and 35% respectively
• Whilst just over half (56%) of respondents reported they were managing their workloads well, more than a quarter (27.2%) indicated they were not managing well
• Over 76% of respondents agreed they felt they had supportive colleagues and supportive work environments, a rise of 3% compared to 2023, and of 6% when compared to 2021.
Chair of the Bar Council Barbara Mills KC said: “As one of my key priorities for this year, I am pleased to see another improvement in overall wellbeing at the Bar and I would like to acknowledge the dedication from individuals, chambers, specialist Bar associations, circuits, and other sector organisations, that are leading and supporting this vital work.
“However, there is still a lot of work to do. In all practice areas, barristers face unrelenting pressures and high expectations. Many operate in an underfunded system, often under stress. Some may suffer vicarious trauma as they support clients who have experienced violence and distress. Others may have to handle multi-million-pound deals in high pressure situations with livelihoods at stake.
“The report also shows us that younger and more junior barristers, female barristers and those from minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as practitioners working in criminal and family law, continue to have lower levels of wellbeing.”
For the first time this year, the Barristers’ Working Lives survey asked respondents about the ways in which they support and manage their own professional wellbeing; more than half of respondents shared their approaches.
The answer themes included:
• Professional support and wellbeing, eg therapy and counselling; attending wellbeing related meetings/training or accessing resources; reflective practice
• Supportive relationships, eg family and friends; mentoring; colleague support
• Physical and mental health activities, eg exercise and support; having a healthy lifestyle; mindfulness and mediation
• Work-life balance and time management, eg taking breaks and holidays; boundaries and switching off; reduced working hours
• Personal interests and hobbies
Barbara said: “One of the key aims of our wellbeing work this year has been to change the culture of within the profession towards taking a more proactive approach and part of that has been piloting Balint reflective practice groups, which offer a confidential space for barristers to reflect.
“It is encouraging that the top theme identified in the research relates to professional support through counselling, mentoring and peer networks. We want to ensure this remains part of an upward trend to maintaining professional wellbeing becoming an integral part of practice, akin to having an accountant or insurance.”
For the first time, a set of recommendations has been produced, based on the results, for consideration:
• Expanding access to therapy and counselling services
• Promoting mentoring programmes and peer support networks
• Advocating for fair legal aid rates and timely payments
• Encouraging chambers to support work-life balance initiatives
• Addressing systemic issues in court listing and judicial expectations
Barbara said: “We are pleased that many of the recommendations are reflective of the proactive approach we have been championing this year. I am also pleased that we have just launched a new trauma-informed law training course to help practitioners address the effects of trauma and distress.”
*The 4 main wellbeing measures are Psychological Wellbeing (PWB), Perfectionism (PER), Workload Management (WLM) and Supportive Work Environment (SWE). These four measures make up the Barrister Wellbeing (BWB) scale, which has been developed in Australian and UK barrister populations.