Average salary of a commercial barrister

The first thing to note in case you don't know is that barristers do not have salaries. Nearly all barristers are self employed, which means that they are not paid a set amount per year, and instead bill and get paid for the individual pieces of work that they do. The reason why this is relevant for the answer to this question is just so you appreciate that even individual barristers will earn different amounts every year, and sometimes those incomes can vary quite significantly year to year depending on the cases that you do. You may already know that and understand the difference, but I thought it was worth clarifying in case you don't.

With all of that said, yes, incomes vary significantly as a barrister in any area of practice. It depends on a whole host of things including how good you are as a barrister, how good you are at cultivating relationships with solicitors and clients, how good your Chambers is, how good your clerks are, and just how lucky you get. But a commercial practice is one of the more lucrative areas you can work in as a barrister. The top end commercial sets in London will often be the sets that people discuss when talking about a commercial practice. At those sets you can and probably would earn really significant sums of money very quickly. As in over £100,000 within a year or two at most, with your earnings increasing pretty significantly from there. A friend of mine is at one of those sets and recently became a KC in his 30s. I wouldn't be surprised if he's earning seven figures at this point, in fact I suspect he probably is.


However, you have to understand that those sets are the exception. Only a very small percentage of barristers practice at them in the context of the Bar as a whole, and both the practices that those barristers have and the money they earn is the exception in this profession. It's not something that you should expect to be able to achieve. It doesn't stop you aiming for pupillage at one of those sets, but it shouldn't be understated just how competitive it is, and in the round how unlikely it is that you'll be successful. There are a lot of very good barristers who would never realistically have been able to get pupillage at one of those sets.

But that's not to say that a commercial practice isn't still a route to earning a good living, because it is. Even at smaller London or regional sets, particularly in the likes of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, but even in other cities like Liverpool, Bristol and Newcastle, a commercial practice at a decent set could still see you earning six figures pretty quickly (within a few years at most) and settling at around the £200k to £400k level once your practice is established. That is a wide range, but the bottom line is that ultimately you can make a very comfortable living as a commercial barristers at any decent set.

Just one final point to note. You may have asked about a commercial practice because you're aware that it's one of the highest earning areas. When it comes to financial stability as a barrister, there are plenty of other practice areas where you can earn a good amount of money to the extent that you're financially very comfortable. Even in some of the 'lower' earning areas, such as crime and family, you can still make a perfectly good living (and earn £100k+) in the right situation. So it depends how you are comparing these earnings to other roles, and what is the determining factor for you. I wouldn't recommend that you become a barrister for the money anyway, because frankly there are other careers and industries where you can earn more. But if it is because you are attracted to being a barrister, there are other practice areas that you might be better suited to beyond commercial where you can still make a very good living. You have plenty of time to research those, though.

Just to add, what would you say the earnings roughly are at more mixed/common law sets in London, as a range of course? I'm talking the likes of 7BR, No5, Hailsham, Crown Office, 1COR, etc- would they be able to compete with the regional commercial practices, or have prospects of say, £300k+?

The first thing to note in case you don't know is that barristers do not have salaries. Nearly all barristers are self employed, which means that they are not paid a set amount per year, and instead bill and get paid for the individual pieces of work that they do. The reason why this is relevant for the answer to this question is just so you appreciate that even individual barristers will earn different amounts every year, and sometimes those incomes can vary quite significantly year to year depending on the cases that you do. You may already know that and understand the difference, but I thought it was worth clarifying in case you don't.

With all of that said, yes, incomes vary significantly as a barrister in any area of practice. It depends on a whole host of things including how good you are as a barrister, how good you are at cultivating relationships with solicitors and clients, how good your Chambers is, how good your clerks are, and just how lucky you get. But a commercial practice is one of the more lucrative areas you can work in as a barrister. The top end commercial sets in London will often be the sets that people discuss when talking about a commercial practice. At those sets you can and probably would earn really significant sums of money very quickly. As in over £100,000 within a year or two at most, with your earnings increasing pretty significantly from there. A friend of mine is at one of those sets and recently became a KC in his 30s. I wouldn't be surprised if he's earning seven figures at this point, in fact I suspect he probably is.


However, you have to understand that those sets are the exception. Only a very small percentage of barristers practice at them in the context of the Bar as a whole, and both the practices that those barristers have and the money they earn is the exception in this profession. It's not something that you should expect to be able to achieve. It doesn't stop you aiming for pupillage at one of those sets, but it shouldn't be understated just how competitive it is, and in the round how unlikely it is that you'll be successful. There are a lot of very good barristers who would never realistically have been able to get pupillage at one of those sets.

But that's not to say that a commercial practice isn't still a route to earning a good living, because it is. Even at smaller London or regional sets, particularly in the likes of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, but even in other cities like Liverpool, Bristol and Newcastle, a commercial practice at a decent set could still see you earning six figures pretty quickly (within a few years at most) and settling at around the £200k to £400k level once your practice is established. That is a wide range, but the bottom line is that ultimately you can make a very comfortable living as a commercial barristers at any decent set.

Just one final point to note. You may have asked about a commercial practice because you're aware that it's one of the highest earning areas. When it comes to financial stability as a barrister, there are plenty of other practice areas where you can earn a good amount of money to the extent that you're financially very comfortable. Even in some of the 'lower' earning areas, such as crime and family, you can still make a perfectly good living (and earn £100k+) in the right situation. So it depends how you are comparing these earnings to other roles, and what is the determining factor for you. I wouldn't recommend that you become a barrister for the money anyway, because frankly there are other careers and industries where you can earn more. But if it is because you are attracted to being a barrister, there are other practice areas that you might be better suited to beyond commercial where you can still make a very good living. You have plenty of time to research those, though.

To give some concrete examples, the GROSS average earnings per barrister at top chambers such as Blackstone Chambers are over £600,000 a year, but that figure is affected by the presence of several "Super-Silks" - KCs who bill several million pounds a year. As noted above, the junior tenants (tenant in this context means a person with a permanent place in chambers) will quickly gross over £100,000 a year. Pupils in the top chambers are paid by their chambers between about £50,000 and £100,000 a year while training. NB: the fee figures I mention are BEFORE expenses and tax.
Entry to top chambers is INTENSELY competitive. To obtain a pupillage and a tenancy in such chambers you will usually need to get a first or a high 2.1 at Oxbridge or at a Russell Group university (or non-UK equivalent). The degree need not be in law, but it needs to be in a rigorous academic subject, whether in the humanities or the sciences. Non law graduates take the Graduate Diploma in law, a one year course after a degree. Law and non law graduates alike take the Bar course, which lasts a year, and do one year in pupillage before becoming fully qualified.
To succeed at the Bar, you have to be willing to accept risk, and high pressure. You need resilience to cope with the competition and the pressure of the work. The intellectual, social, and financial rewards of success at the Bar are considerable. Being a barrister is a tough job, but also a great job if you can make it work.

Hi there Stiffy Byng, thank you for your advice! I'm sort of curious about the entry into the Bar, especially as I am one of the only aspiring civil/commercial barristers in my cohort. I want to compete for decent London common law sets (not necessarily magic circle) and was wondering whether a first from my law school (top 10 RG) with a wealth of mooting and debating successes can put me in good stead? This will obviously be in tandem with other things like FRU work, minis, and some work as a paralegal potentially.