Legal Cheek’s latest Junior Barrister Survey reveals all
The role of a barrister is rarely dull, working on all-absorbing cases at the cutting-edge of the law — but which chambers stand out above the rest?
As part of Legal Cheek’s exclusive survey of over 600 junior barristers, we asked bar rookies at the leading sets across England and Wales to rate how stimulating their work is. Respondents then scored their chambers for quality of work on a sliding scale from one to ten — with one defined as ‘not at all stimulating’ and ten as ‘highly stimulating’.
We’ve tallied the responses, and can reveal a shortlist of 16 chambers, commended for their quality of work. Below are the results listed alphabetically:
Best chambers for quality of work 2022
11KBW
4 New Square
4 Pump Court
5 Essex Court
Blackstone Chambers
Brick Court Chambers
Crown Office Chambers
Fountain Court Chambers
Gatehouse Chambers
Keating Chambers
Littleton Chambers
Matrix Chambers
Quadrant Chambers
Serjeants’ Inn Chambers
Serle Court
Wilberforce Chambers
As part of this year’s survey, we also received hundreds of anonymous comments from junior barristers about the quality of work that they do. Here are a selection of those from some of the chambers listed above:
How stimulating is the work you do?
“It is varied, interesting, complex, substantial and often quite sensitive. No two cases are ever the same.”
I do a mixture of different types of work, and the variety keeps things interesting. As my practice develops year to year I find myself doing more and more interesting and engaging work, and feel that chambers is really helping me develop as a practitioner.
“Although junior, I regularly appear in cases which make the news. Legally, the work is fascinating: often dealing with obscure torts and statutes, with an incredibly wide array of factual situations”
“You genuinely get the best of both worlds: one day you may be against a Magic Circle commercial set; the next advising on a complex Chancery matter.”
“The work is generally very interesting, with interesting cases for reputable firms from an early stage. The work typically couples interesting factual matters (with associated disputes of fact) with intellectually engaging and often complex legal arguments. The opportunity to conduct multi-day trials from the very outset of practice is an excellent way to cut your teeth.”
“I am constantly struck by the fact that we are in a rare profession which is not ‘mainly administration’.”
Aspiring pupils at the above elite sets should know the Pupillage Gateway, the centralised system to submit your application for pupillage, closes on Wednesday 9 February 2022.
The winner of this category will be announced at The Legal Cheek Awards 2022, sponsored by BARBRI, on Thursday 24 March 2022.
