IN REPLY TO JCW: I take all your points on board. However, the debate as to whether or not the two disciplines should merge has been ongoing since the 80s. Of course the majority of barristers and solicitors would never want such a thing to happen but then the legal system is now under the auspices of a particularly radical Lord Chancellor who is determined to move the legal system into the 21st Century.
That aside there are also fewer people going down the route of the barrister because it is so competitive with no guarantee of a successful career following the pupillage at an Inns of Court - it seems that pupillage is now drawn from a very wide range of universities and Oxbridge students, whose preserve it traditionally was, are now in the minority in the yearly intake - the prerequisite degree is now at least a second-class degree - people with first class degrees from top unis are looking to maximise their earning power as soon as possible and avoid the ardours of pupillage.