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As always, people seem to be missing the fundamental points here so let's try again.

Traditionally, the Bar has always perceived itself as being better than the solicitors' profession in every way and also prided itself on keeping the 'riffraff' out. You could immediately tell a Barrister apart from a solicitor in that the Barrister would usually be better looking, slimmer, more smartly dressed and better spoken than any solicitor would be. But, of course, imagine how hilarious Rumpole would look today trying to type on a laptop using his thumbs!

However, the glory days of the Bar are over and just like the British Empire, the Bar can't rely on its past to justify its supposed present and future 'greatness' and 'superiority' over the solicitors' profession. Given that there are now a lot more Solicitor-Advocates and also that solicitors have been encouraged for some time now to do their own advocacy, these stigmas are no longer justified. The days when a solicitor would get a new client and go directly to Counsel for Counsel to advise and resolve the matter (a bit like Commissioner Gordon using the Batphone) are long gone. As already stated, it's time for the Bar to catch up with the times…