Those called to the Bar by legal year

"Call" is the date at which barristers are formally recognised to have passed the vocational stage of training and have been called to the Bar by their Inn of Court. Barristers are often referred to by the year of their "year of Call" which is calculated on the same date.

Chart showing the number of those called to the Bar over time. In 2022/23 there were 1909 barristers called to the Bar compared to 2014 the year before Chart showing the number of those called to the Bar by gender. In 2022/23 there were 871 female barristers called and 769 male barristers. Chart showing the number of those called to the Bar by ethnicity. In 2022/23 there were 1136 minority ethnic background barristers called and 543 white barristers. Chart showing the number of those called to the Bar by age range. In 2022/23, 549 of those called were under 25, 1045 were aged 25-34, and 308 were aged 35 and over

Tenancy

Securing "tenancy" means being accepted as a permanent member of chambers, traditionally upon completion of pupillage. Barristers normally secure tenancy in the set where they completed their pupillage, although it is also possible to apply elsewhere. 

The following charts contain data on those that have completed pupillage and gone on to gain tenancy less than six months after the end of the legal year in which they completed pupillage.

Chart showing the number of those gaining tenancy over time. In 2021/22 we have a record of 347 barristers gaining tenancy Chart showing the number of those gaining tenancy by gender. In 2021/22, we have a record of 186 female barristers and 145 male barristers gaining tenancy Chart showing the number of those gaining tenancy by ethnicty. In 2021/22, we have a record of 58 minority ethnic background barristers and 279 white barristers gaining tenancy Chart showing the number of those gaining tenancy by age range. In 2021/22, the majority of this group were aged 25-34.

Caveats

* Please note that our statistics on the age of barristers practising at the Bar are not directly comparable between 2015 and earlier years. This is due to us improving the way in which we obtained this information from barristers from 2015. 

** Please note that reporting mechanisms have changed over the past years. As a result of sourcing from various data streams and the implementation of more robust quality assurance structures some numbers may vary from previous publications. 

 *** We gather diversity data for individual barristers via the "MyBar" online portal, as part of the Authorisation to Practise process, using a Legal Services Board-designed form. Provision of the data is voluntary because data protection laws dictate that people - in any profession - cannot be obliged to disclose equality and diversity data about themselves if they do not wish to do so.  

**** Data on tenancy is for confirmed tenancies, where the barrister has updated their record in MyBar to ndicate they have gained tenancy. There are additional tenancies in a given year that we do not have a complete record of, as barristers do not always update their MyBar records to indicate that they have become tenants.

Date of next update

November 2024 for those called to the Bar

April 2024 for tenancy

Source of data

This data is sourced from the Bar Standards Board Database.