POVERTY ROW

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 111, 23 April 1936, Page 12

POVERTY ROW

Briefless Barristers of the Temple SMALL EARNINGS (Irum Our Special Correspondent.) (By Air Mail.) ~ LuNDuin, March 28. Ilia Temple, pieasaut liaunt between l*Leet birttt and mo Kin bun Uro cut, where those woo follow the legal profession meet and congregate, is last becoming a new .Loudon roverty Row. Junior barristers, hands in pockets, idle and gossip within its precincts, w ailing lor Oriels that they know will never come, liiey njt irom court to court in the King’s Bench Division, following cases of interest conducted by colleagues more fortunate tna u themselves. Ur they attend to hear a "fashionable” K.C. open a case that is finely to turn out a cause celebrc.

Ut tne 2500 junior barristers prai>> rising at the Common Law liar at the moment auout ouo-ihird arc practically unemployed, liven m normal times (he average income of 85 por cent, ul juniors is Jess than £3OO a year, Five per cent, make substantial incomes, and 10 per cenj. make between and Llouu a year. Hie enormous lees paid to "fashionable” King’s Counsel give a lalse impression about the earnings of barristers. Altogether there are 3000 barristers in active practice in England; and 2500 ol them practice at the Common Law Bar, that is in the King’s Bench Division. King’s Counsel number about 150. Save lor a Jew exceptions their lees varty between thirty and fifty guineas ior a case. Often they are lower.

Most of the juniors’ work is in (ho county courts and the police courts where their lees are very small indeed, in some cases the maximum is six guineas; the usual is two or three guineas, lor this the junior barrister lias to prepare his case beforehand, and generally spend a whole day at court.