Employed barristers feel they are treated as 'second-class citizens' by the Bar Council and ignored by their Inns of Court, research revealed last month.

A survey by the Bar Council's employed barristers committee, which received 225 responses, revealed that many employed barristers consider they are neglected by the Bar Council and the committee, and do not understand what the two organisations do.


Many respondents also said they are ignored by their Inn, with some 75% stating that they do not participate in the Inn. While more respondents were members of Inner Temple than any other Inn of Court, only one-sixth said they actually had any involvement in the organisation.


Lincoln's Inn was the most popular with employed barristers, with half of the respondents who were members participating in events.


Respondents also complained that there is a lack of clarity over their rights of audience, which are governed by a complex code.


A high proportion of employed barristers had ambitions to hold judicial office: some 51% said they were interested in doing so, while 8% had already held or still hold a judicial post and 1% had applied unsuccessfully.


However, the survey found there was less interest in achieving QC status, with just 1% having applied to take silk and only 42% expressing any interest in doing so.


Louise Fluker, committee chairwoman and general counsel of printing group De La Rue, said: 'It was surprising that employed barristers feel they are treated as second-class citizens. It could be partly because, whereas private practice barristers tend to be grouped in geographical areas such as Temple or some cities, if barristers work for a company they are much more scattered and so there is less of an obvious network.


'But recognition of the importance of employed barristers is rising, with three employed barristers as members of the General Medical Council this year.'


She added: 'Our priority this year will be to take stock of the survey and look at how to address the issues.'


A Bar Council spokeswoman said that while the survey was a good exercise, it did not represent a full picture of the employed profession's views, as the respondents only constituted 8% of the employed bar, which has 2,800 members.