The current dispute between Simeon Burke and the Bar Council sheds an unflattering light on the antiquated and opaque processes which still govern admission to the legal profession. Simeon, who graduated two years ago with high grades, is a member of the Burke family, who are no strangers to high-profile disputes in the courts. In order to practise as a barrister, he must find a “master” who is willing to take him on as an unpaid “pupil” to “devil” for one year. So far he has failed to do so.
Burke has some justification for his complaint that the rules are unjust. More broadly, it is clear who benefits from these rules. Reports submitted to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) have found that young legal professionals are almost exclusively “white Irish”, with more than 70 per cent coming from an ABC1 socio-economic background.
Practitioner training is provided by the Law Society (solicitors) and the Honorable Society of King’s Inns (barristers). Both are based in Dublin. Most “masters” are also Dublin-based. The authority makes 32 recommendations for reforms to both systems to address the chronic lack of diversity in a sector which it describes as “heavily reliant on prior connections and networks”.
It should not come as a surprise that a profession which requires new entrants to spend the first few years of their careers on at best a subsistence income should end up favouring those from well-off backgrounds. The LSRA identifies cost and early-career low pay as the most significant barriers to entry. A web of family and social connections also plays a part in easing the path for some at the expense of the less well-connected.
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Of more relevance to Burke may be the recommendation for reform of pupillage through a more formalised, fair and transparent system. It is probably fortunate that he is still a young man. The sorry tale of foot-dragging and procrastination since the troika first insisted more than a decade ago on reforms to the legal profession suggests he may have to wait for some time.