Durham > Barrister

As we know a majority of the top London QC's are white, privately educated and have attended Oxbridge.

How does Durham rank up in the Bar?

Reply 1

Crazy Jamie

Careers Forum Helper

In terms of actual figures I don't know. Perhaps someone else does. There, are however, two points I'd make.

First, yes, QCs are predominantly white and privately educated. I don't know whether the majority also went to Oxbridge, but it wouldn't surprise me, and they will at the very least be significantly over represented. However, you have to remember that QC numbers represent a very advanced stage of practice. Recent trends in recruitment of barristers have shown great proportions of women and ethnic minorities, for example, and the QC statistics over the past four or five years show the beginnings of similar trends. I don't know what the recent trends show as regards universities or private/public educated, but the point is not to take the current statistics and assume that that's how it will be in twenty or thirty years when current students are looking at becoming silks. Because it almost certainly won't be.

Second, there really is no such thing as a particular university doing well in practice. What matters is the strength of the candidates that come from that university. Now don't get me wrong. Going to a certain university, such as Oxford and Cambridge, can certainly provide certain advantages such as the quality of teaching and access to things like networking events and extra curricular activities and skills. But the university you went to in terms of being a name on your pupillage application means almost nothing, and in fact far less than many other things. And, crucially, a bad candidate will not get a pupillage or even an interview simply because they went to a good university. The point is that when you look at profiles of tenants and see that they went to Oxbridge, or other good universities, you need to remember that they didn't get pupillage because they went to those universities. They got pupillage because they were strong candidates. There will be some correlation there because good universities want the best candidates out of school, and are considered good universities because of their standard of teaching and, to some degree, the quality of candidates they produce. But the point remains that the important thing is how good a candidate you are, not the university you go to.

So all that said, if you're asking because you want to go to Durham, go to Durham. It's a good university and you should have every opportunity to succeed going there.

Reply 2

Kessler`

What matters is a) your degree classification and whether b) it's from a recognisably good university. That does not mean neccessarily Oxbridge or Russell Group. Then, on top of that, you need a wide-ranging and useful skillset backed by experience and then finally....character.

Don't worry about competing with Oxbridge etc etc. Focus on those things that you can actually do something about. The better candidates (and the most successful) are those with their heads down working on improving themselves whilst others bemoan over/under/unfair representation at the Bar.

Reply 3

barrister1996

My advice would be:

(1) Go to Durham; get a first and ideally a University prize. Pretty much everything, in the paper sift, is secondary to your final degree classification because academics is heavily weighted in chambers' analysis of prospective pupils. This is not to say you're dead in the water with a 2i, but you're at the back of the pack. One of the ironic facets of the pupillage process is that what matters most is what happens before you start out on any vocational training (and indeed often, in the case of non-law applicants) before you start studying law. The hours you put into getting the very best mark possible at undergraduate stage are never wasted.

(2) Go to Durham; do mooting (if law) and debating (either way). Your aim for all pupillages has to be: get into the room where it happens. With respect, your CV is unlikely to be so incredibly stellar that you are a shoe-in for pupillage anywhere. Lots of chambers have "advocacy" sections; you would not believe how many people are surprised by this and have to write absolute rubbish about how their role as XYZ gave them advocacy experience, when it's clearly pure nonsense. Durham debating is pretty strong; learn the basics of BP and go and compete. It's immensely fun and a rewarding experience; you can go a long way and your CV will comparatively look strong even if you go to a few comps. Try also taking up e.g. Debate Mate, or coaching children public speaking vel. sim.

(3) Get some pro bono/volunteering experience. Lots of chambers have qs about being in "difficult situations" or "leading a team". With respect, telling people how you led a team at XYZ University Media Society is a lot less impressive than: "I helped co-ordinate relief at a homeless shelter during a particularly cold winter". One of the things I look back on with regret is how much time I, at University, invested into student politics which is immensely hours-intensive and entirely inexplicable to interviewers.