The Young Bar Toolkit has been written by members of the Bar Council's Young Barristers' Committee, with input from solicitors, fellow barristers, pupil supervisors, clerks, and Bar Council staff. It is designed for barristers — including pupils — in the early years of practice.
The Toolkit features five sections with relevant sub-sections, covering the essential areas of building and sustaining a successful career at the Bar.
What the Toolkit Covers
- Building and managing a practice for the self-employed Bar
- How to conduct yourself as a pupil — professional standards and expectations
- Applications for tenancy — preparing and positioning yourself
- Specialisation — choosing and developing your practice area
- Maintaining relationships with more senior members of chambers
- Timetabling holidays and managing time away
- Working with your clerks — communication and professional relationships
- Relationships with solicitors — building a referral network
- Marketing your practice — raising your profile
- CPD: choosing your points — continuing professional development
- Childcare and other personal commitments
- The first years of practice — regulatory requirements
Explore the Toolkit
Financial Affairs & Terms of Payment
Guidance on managing finances as a self-employed barrister, including working with clerks on fees, accountancy services, VAT, study loans, and pupillage awards.
Wellbeing & Work/Life Balance
Resources addressing stress, strain, and work-life balance for barristers, including practical measures for equality and treatment in chambers.
Contact the Young Bar Committee
For general inquiries, email YBC@youngbarhub.com. For ethics-related questions, contact Ethics@youngbarhub.com.
The Bar Council
289–293 High Holborn
London WC1V 7HZ