Barristers act on the instructions of their clients, specialise in advocacy and use their skills, expertise and knowledge to present a case in court in the best possible way. A Barrister will often be instructed by a solicitor to advise on specific legal issues and to prepare legal documents to enable claims to be brought and applications to be made in the Civil and Family Courts.
Barristers often only become involved in a case in order to provide any advocacy needed by the client. Barristers are also engaged by solicitors to provide specialist advice on points of law. Barristers are rarely, if ever, instructed by clients directly (although this occurs frequently in tax matters). Instead, the client's solicitors will instruct a barrister on behalf of the client when appropriate.
The historical difference between the role of a barrister and that of a solicitor is that a solicitor is an attorney, which means they stand in the place of their client for legal purposes, and may conduct litigation by making applications to the court, writing letters in litigation to the client's opponent and so on. A barrister is not an attorney and is forbidden, both by law and by professional rules, from conducting litigation.
This difference in function explains many of the practical differences between the two professions.
Career path of a Barrister
Before an individual can qualify as a barrister and achieve tenancy (a permanent position in a chambers) individuals must first undertake training. Training is done over two years with one year being spent at Bar School and the other doing a pupillage.
A pupillage is typically segmented in two to three six month periods. For the first six months pupils spend most of their time work-shadowing, before getting limited opportunities to do cases themselves in the second period. Pupillages tend to be not only exciting and informative but also quite stressful experiences, as competition is intense with, for example, four to five pupils all trying to secure one of the two tenancies available. Even after achieving tenancy, individuals, as self-employed professionals, must then set about establishing themselves in their speciality
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