Why They’re Calling Last Orders at the Bar

Article by Anne Mizzi and Jonathan Ames, The Independent 18 April

The authors conclude the growing trend of leaving City firms for their litigators to have advocacy training is a serious threat to the junior Bar. Linklaters has already more than halved its annual payment to barristers from £2.5m in 1995 to just under £1m in 1998, Allen & Overy, Norton Rose, Hammond Suddards and Eversheds have announced similar plans whilst Finers Stephens Innocent are entering into negotiations with Nottingham Law School and the College of Law over an advocacy training programme. Despite the Bar’s claims to the contrary the City firms of solicitors say they can do most advocacy work more cheaply and pass on the savings to their clients. There is concern that the drive to bring in-house the bulk of work traditionally farmed out to junior barristers whilst still retaining silks for heavy-weight work threatens the traditional training ground for future Queen’s Counsel.