Pay boosts reach 50%
The country’s leading chambers are fighting a new pay war to secure the top future barrister talent.
For the second year in a row chambers have brought in significant hikes in pay in order to attract top graduates with their eyes on the bar.
The highest mover this year has been 3PB, raising its pupillage award by a whopping 50% up from £40,000 to £60,000. This is the largest increase both in percentage and money terms.
Not far behind is Blackstone Chambers bumping pay up from £75,000 to £90,000, with Fountain Court Chambers jumping from £80,000 to £90,000. Other big movers include Gatehouse, Henderson, and Wilberforce Chambers all rising £10,000 from £75k to £85k, and Hailsham Chambers and Radcliffe Chambers increasing by the same amount from £70,000 to £80,000.
There have also been a spree of £5,000 boosts, with 4 Stone Buildings, 7KBW, Brick Court Chambers, Essex Court Chambers, and South Square all rising from £75,000 to the commercial bar’s new standard of £80,000.
Regional powerhouse Kings Chambers has increased pay by £5,000 from £70,000 to £75,000, with No5 Chambers taking its award from £55,000 to £60,000.
Whilst some pupillage awards comprise a fixed sum of money, others are split into an initial award and then guaranteed earnings during a pupil’s second, practicing, six months. It is therefore possible for some recruits to earn in excess of their pupillage award, depending on how much of their own work they undertake.
These figures can eclipse what is offered at top solicitors firms in the City, with the highest pay packet for a first year trainee solicitor sitting at £65,000 — barely making it into the top 50 highest paying sets. Whilst the highest newly qualified solicitor pay can reach up to £180,000, even this can be a long way off the bar’s top payers, offering as much as £360,000 in year one of practice.
Hefty pay packets and bumper raises aren’t reaching every area of the bar, however. Many sets, particularly those with a practice focussed on legal aid work (think criminal, immigration, and some areas of family law), are only able to offer the Bar Standards Board minimum award, which currently sits at £23,078 in London, and £21,060 in the regions for a 12-month pupillage.
Pupillage awards: Which chambers pay what?
| Chambers | Pupillage award |
| Gough Square Chambers | £100,000 |
| Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers | £100,000 |
| Blackstone Chambers | £90,000 |
| Crown Office Chambers | £90,000 |
| Fountain Court Chambers | £90,000 |
| 4 New Square Chambers | £85,000 |
| Atkin Chambers | £85,000 |
| Gatehouse Chambers | £85,000 |
| Henderson Chambers | £85,000 |
| Keating Chambers | £85,000 |
| XXIV Old Buildings | £85,000 |
| Wilberforce Chambers | £85,000 |
| 2TG | £82,500 |
| 3VB | £80,000 |
| 4 Pump Court | £80,000 |
| 4 Stone Buildings | £80,000 |
| 7KBW | £80,000 |
| Brick Court Chambers | £80,000 |
| Erskine Chambers | £80,000 |
| Essex Court Chambers | £80,000 |
| Hailsham Chambers | £80,000 |
| New Square Chambers | £80,000 |
| Outer Temple Chambers | £80,000 |
| Radcliffe Chambers | £80,000 |
| South Square | £80,000 |
| Tanfield Chambers | £80,000 |
| 11KBW | £75,000 |
| 12 King’s Bench Walk | £75,000 |
| 5 Stone Buildings | £75,000 |
| Devereux Chambers | £75,000 |
| Falcon Chambers | £75,000 |
| Francis Taylor Building | £75,000 |
| Kings Chambers | £75,000 |
| Landmark Chambers | £75,000 |
| Monckton Chambers | £75,000 |
| Pump Court Tax Chambers | £75,000 |
| Quadrant Chambers | £75,000 |
| Selborne Chambers | £75,000 |
| Serle Court | £75,000 |
| Ten Old Square | £75,000 |
| Twenty Essex | £75,000 |
| 39 Essex Chambers | £70,000 |
| Cornerstone Barristers | £70,000 |
| Serjeants’ Inn Chambers | £70,000 |
| 5 Essex Chambers | £65,000 |
| 3PB | £60,000 |
| 7BR | £60,000 |
| No5 Chambers | £60,000 |
| 42BR Barristers | £55,000 |
| Exchange Chambers | £30,000 |
| Express Solicitors | £27,000 |
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