Barristers give specialist legal advice to solicitors and other professional clients, and represent individual clients and organisations in court or at tribunals.

Their work includes:

• meeting solicitors (and other professionals such as architects, surveyors and accountants) who consult barristers on behalf of their clients
• researching points of law from previous similar cases

• writing opinions and advising solicitors and other professionals
• preparing for a case by reading statements and law reports, and talking with the client if necessary
• representing clients in court or at tribunals or public enquiries – presenting the case to the judge and jury, cross-examining witnesses and summing up.

Barristers have the right to appear in the higher courts.

The amount of time that barristers spend in court depends on the type of law they specialise in. Specialists in civil law (contracts, property, family law and torts) and chancery law (wills, trusts, estates, tax and company law) mainly do advisory work and spend little time in court. Criminal law specialists spend most of their time in court and preparing for cases. Most barristers (around 80%) are self-employed and work in private practice. The rest work as specialist legal advisers in industry, commerce, and central or local government – this is known as the 'employed Bar'.

After pupillage for at least one year, you become a junior barrister. At this stage, the cases you are dealing with start to become more serious and complex. Challenges to career development for self-employed barristers at this stage can include limited finances, long hours required to cover cases, and the need to manage your own workload. Because of this, career development and financial stability is very much dependent on your cases, your approach to your work and the ability to successfully build up a practice and reputation. Further career development involves honing and updating your skills. For many barristers, the eventual aim is to become a Queen's Counsel (QC), which involves leading in very serious cases, or entering the judiciary as an assistant recorder prior to becoming a judge.

Barristers who practise at the Employed Bar will usually work for a company or public sector organisation as part of a legal team or department (there is a growing number of opportunities in publicly-funded work). Career progression may involve heading up such a team or moving into the higher levels of general management.

Getting involved with professional bodies and groups such as the Young Barristers Committee, part of The Bar Council, from an early stage can help to raise your profile as well as developing your professional skills. Career development requires a creative approach to career opportunities and the ability to think laterally - success can depend on choosing a specialist area for which you can become known.