Lord Neuberger discusses the findings and implications of his report on entry to the Bar
The Working Party on Entry to the Bar has spent the last 14 months considering how to improve access to one of our most historic and important professions. As its chairman, it has been my job to assist and co-ordinate the working party’s progress as it considered every aspect of the way in which the Bar should attract, recruit, and retain those people with the most suitable abilities and commitment.
AWARENESS AND ACCESS
Our final report, Entry to the Bar, published this week, identifies ways in which the Bar can expand its current initiatives to encourage, and then recruit, students who come from less privileged backgrounds, while simultaneously raising the standards of training for (and selection of) barristers. We have focused our efforts on reinforcing the Bar’s commitment to quality at all levels, and on introducing more far-reaching and co-ordinated initiatives to improve awareness and access for those from less advantaged backgrounds.
For too long, the Bar has been perceived in many quarters as primarily open to the socially and
