UK Law Articles
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The Times
July 3 1999
£250,000 separates barristers from QCs
BY FRANCES GIBB, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
A HUGE income gap between QCs who earn up to £266,000 a year and young barristers on as little as £17,000 is highlighted in a report on the Bar published yesterday.
It shows that most barristers earn a good living but that earnings vary greatly, depending on the type of work done. Barristers doing Chancery, commercial and other specialist work have incomes twice as great as those working in criminal or family law.
The survey, by the chartered accountants BDO Stoy Hayward, is the most comprehensive of its kind, based on 402 sets of chambers in England and Wales.
It found that the average earnings of barristers in their first five years of practice ranged between £17,000 and £42,000. Barristers qualified for five to ten years earn between £41,000 and £79,000, while those qualified for longer earn between £61,200 and £124,300.
The 10 to 15 per cent who have been appointed Queen's Counsel earn on average between £163,400 and £266,200. It is likely, however, that some of the highest earners did not respond, including the handful of QCs known to earn £1 million a year.
The survey found that overheads remain relatively small, varying from £200 to £30,000, with an average of about £8,000. But barristers wait for an average of 5½ months to be paid. The slowest payer is the Legal Aid Board.
The report, to be presented at a meeting of delegates from chambers today, found that the profession was becoming less male-dominated and less London-orientated.
Barristers are estimated to carry out £3 million to £4 million worth of free work every year. The Bar's Free Representation Unit also does some £1.6 million worth, and the Pro Bono Unit £1 million.
The survey showed that nearly 60 per cent of the Bar's income comes from the private sector, with 10 per cent from government departments and local authorities. Just over 30 per cent is publicly funded by the Legal Aid Board, the Crown Prosecution Service or the Lord Chancellor's Department.
The report found that all chambers were growing, particularly the smaller ones. Most were optimistic about the future, despite perceived threats from other professions and a reluctance in some parts of the profession to change.
