Well, the results are in and it is not good news for 50% of those Victorian-based lawyers wanting the opportunity to work as a barrister. We received the following information from a tipster following Friday’s post:
hi there,
i sat the readers’ course entrance exam and got through. 36 people sat the exam, and 18 people (half!) passed.
the exam was difficult. the 75% pass mark was very daunting and left candidates shaking in our boots.
i think the sample questions that were provided were deceptively simple; in actual fact the exam was very involved and certainly put us through our paces.
i studied hard for weeks in the lead-up and would encourage any future sitters to do the same – without that preparation there is no way I would have got through.
Ouch. Who has time to study in between working full-time as a solicitor? More importantly, why would anyone bother studying to become a barrister when they’re paid so poorly?
According to a confidential VicBar survey from December 2010, 28 per cent of Victoria’s women barristers and 13 per cent of male barristers earn less than $50,000. This indicates that the annual income of about 130 women barristers and about 181 male barristers is up to $20,000 less than the starting salaries for law graduates at Melbourne’s big law firms. The income figures were collected by the Victorian Bar in March 2010 when barristers revealed their incomes for insurance purposes when renewing their practising certificates.
The Australian reviewed the survey in an excellent article in December last year and made the following observations:
Those familiar with the income data say it could indicate that the practices of hundreds of Melbourne’s junior barristers might not be financially viable once overheads are taken into account. The cheapest room currently available through Barristers’ Chambers Ltd costs just under $5000 a year to rent. The average annual rent for the 17 rooms currently available through BCL is $18,151. Victoria’s barristers also pay about 4 per cent of their incomes to their clerks. The Victorian Bar, when asked about the large proportion of women earning less than $50,000, did not question the accuracy of the figures obtained by The Australian.
We wish the 18 people who failed the exam the best of luck as they consider their career options.
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From my understanding, and from Barristers I’ve spoken to and briefed, the beginning may be hard for some and not for others (there are Barristers who earn a six figure salary in their first year). However, Australian junior/pupil Barrister’s are doing an awful lot better than their English counterparts who start as low as 10k pounds