The award-winning Bar Placement Week, now in its 11th year, is one Bar Council initiative aimed at giving an insight into the profession for those talented sixth form students who have shown an interest in following a career path at the Bar. The scheme places students in chambers across England and Wales for a week to get a first- hand taste of what it means to be a barrister. In 2018, the Bar Council launched the ‘I am the Bar’ social mobility campaign aimed at showing anyone considering entering the profession that people from all walks of life can make it at the Bar. Eleven social mobility advocates – barristers from non-traditional backgrounds – shared their often-difficult journeys to becoming barristers. The aim of the campaign is to inspire others to do the same. The Bar Council is also the principal sponsor of the annual Young Citizens Bar Mock Trials competition. In its 27-year history, the competition has given over 50,000 state-educated students the opportunity to take part in mock trials held in real criminal courts and gain valuable coaching from real barristers and judges. As well as attending law fairs at universities with a high proportion of students from non- traditional backgrounds, the Bar Council runs the Pupillage Fair. This recruitment event is the only one run by the Bar and is the largest in the country, with approximately 70 chambers and organisations attending. The Bar Council also runs the Bar e-mentoring scheme which pairs barristers with students who meet social mobility criteria and who are interested in joining the Bar. Starting out Students, pupils and junior barristers will be particularly interested in the work of the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committee (YBC), which represents and promotes
the interests of barristers of up to seven years in practice. The YBC promotes and supports young barristers through several initiatives such as its annual workshop, the International Weekend, the Young Bar Dinner, the International Grant Programme, and the dedicated Young Bar Hub and Toolkit (https://youngbarhub.com/). Beyond the YBC’s activities, the Bar Council also operates the confidential Pupils’ Helpline to support pupil barristers during the final step on their journey to the Bar. Providing vital support to barristers on managing their wellbeing or dealing with mental health has been a major aspect of the Bar Council’s work in recent years. That extends to pupils and students facing challenges on their career journey to the Bar. The Wellbeing at the Bar initiative and website, which is run by the Bar Council and backed by other organisations, now provides useful guides and resources for students. The whole Wellbeing at the Bar programme is designed to support barristers at all different stages in their careers, including those early years. Career development The Bar Council offers a wide range of training courses to support barristers throughout their careers, as well as mentoring services for barristers, such as for those seeking to become silks (Queen’s Counsel) and those returning to work following a break for parental leave. The Bar Council also runs a variety of events and conferences to encourage continuing professional development throughout a barrister’s career, such as the Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference in November. A regular Bar Council Training & Events newsletter is sent to all barristers every fortnight to enable the profession to keep abreast of new training opportunities.
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