When I was at Eton in the 1990s I thought I knew all about diversity. After all just in my year group were boys from Nepal, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Colombia, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, America, Palestine and all the corners of the British Isles. There were Protestant boys, Catholic boys, Muslim boys, Jewish boys, Hindu boys, Sikh boys, boys of little faith, avowedly no faith and a number indifferent to the whole concept. There were even some boys without titles. This seeming eclecticism apparently conferred on us the ability to see, appreciate and understand a world of plurality and difference.
But this surface variety concealed a clear common denominator. The boy from Nepal, Prince Nirajan, was excused chapel on account of his semi-divine status at home, the boy from Saudi Arabia was from the House of Saud, all the other boys though perhaps from less exalted families shared in the joint bounty of privilege. Privilege obliterates difference because the tensions attendant on difference are instantly defused by wealth and comfort. Money is a language and a creed understood by all anywhere in the world.
There were of course some scholarship boys, inheritors of the school's original purpose, namely the education of 70 poor scholars to keep it all real. And there was my friend Musa, now an acclaimed poet, writer and football journalist, the one black boy in a year group of about 260 boys who has written insightfully about the experience of being a minority within such a rarefied minority http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/14/whats-wrong-with-eton-it-doesnt-teach-snobbery/.
When you leave Eton you believe you can do anything. And you believe it because you can. And for some that is the start of a life of unexamined and unthinking entitlement. Doors that are always open for you because they always were and always will be. But this post is not about Eton and whether schools like it are a blessing or a curse or a much more nuanced combination of the two.
Instead this post is about the criminal Bar (again!) and specifically access to it. To the outsider these are institutions that are essentially inseparable. Both require their members to wear archaic black and white uniforms. Both appear to exist in cloistered sequestration from the 'real' world. But do not be deceived by appearances. The Bar is a remarkably diverse place with its members drawn from a panoply of backgrounds and ethnicities, as the Bar Standards Board's biennial survey of the Bar demonstrates: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media/1597662/biennial_survey_report_2013.pdf
In 2011, it was reported that one in ten (10%) of
the Bar were from BME backgrounds. This figure
remains unchanged in 2013 with 83% from
white British backgrounds and 6% from other
white backgrounds and 2% from a white Irish
background. Asian Indian is the largest minority ethnic
There is some indication of a rise in the proportion of
BME barristers as just 7% of those who were
called more than 21 years ago are from BME backgrounds
compared with 13% of those called in the last 7
years. However, it does not appear that there has been
much increase in the proportion of BME barristers in the
last 20 years. By age there are similar differences with
just 4% barristers aged 60 plus being from BME
backgrounds compared with 12% of those aged
under 40. There is also some evidence, corroborating
the findings from 2011 that a higher proportion of female
barristers are from BME origins than men (13% compared
As in 2011, several questions were devised to gather
information about the educational background of barristers.
First, respondents were asked to indicate the type of
secondary school they attended (state or fee paying) and
then two questions sought information on their higher
education; the university attended and the class of degree
attained. These variables proved to be illuminating in
differentiating between barristers in their choice of practice
areas, success in achieving Silk and a variety of other
employment-related issues.
2.2.1 Secondary education
Across all barristers 56% went to state schools and
44% to fee-paying schools, the same as reported in
2011. Female barristers are significantly more likely to
have attended state schools than male (65% compared with 51%
of men) and this is the key variable correlated with type
of secondary schooling. It is also noticeable that more of
the under 30 age group attended state schools and fewer
of the 60 plus age group; however, this is partly linked to
the relative number of women in each age group. It is also
noticeable that more BME barristers went to state schools
(67%), more of those who are gay/bisexual (67%) and more
of those with adult caring responsibilities (66%). These
differences were all noticeable in 2011 as well, reinforcing
the reliability of the data.
One final issue that was also mentioned in 2011 and bears
repeating is that those barristers who started a career at
the Bar later in life i.e. they were Called to the Bar aged 30
plus are more likely to have attended state schools (66%).
The second set of educational background questions
concerned the university attended by respondents to
the survey. Barristers were asked to write in the name of
the university they attended and, using the same coding
system devised in 2011, these were then coded into six
broad groups that relate to current concepts of university
hierarchy, and can be used to monitor changes in the
profession in future years. However, this might be viewed
as a somewhat crude measure and it may be that when
older barristers qualified, different universities were
considered of a higher status, depending on the subjects
they studied. Notwithstanding these considerations the
■■ Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge)
■■ Russell Group universities (e.g. Bristol, Edinburgh,
Imperial, LSE, KCL but excluding Oxford and
■■ 1994 Group universities (e.g. Bath, Durham, Exeter,
■■ Other pre-1992 universities (e.g. Keele, Aston, Brunel,
■■ 1992 universities (e.g. Brighton, De Montfort, Leeds
Metropolitan, Sunderland)
■■ Second wave new universities (e.g. Bath Spa, Solent,
■■ Others, including overseas and Open University.
Across all barristers, three in ten (32%, 30% in 2011) went
to Oxbridge, 39% went to Russell Group universities
and seven per cent went to 1994 Group universities. Just
13% went to the old polytechnic sector of higher
In recent years more new entrants to the Bar were
educated at Oxford or Cambridge with 45 per cent of
the Young Bar (new entrants 1-3 years) having attended
Oxbridge, compared with 31% across the remainder
of the Bar. Among those who started their career at the
Bar later in life i.e. aged 30 plus, fewer attended Oxbridge
or Russell group universities (16% and 33% respectively
compared with 35% and 40% among more traditional
Whether or not barristers qualified later in life as mature
entrants or were younger traditional entrants to the
profession is strongly correlated with the university
attended. For example, just under half (49%) of nontraditional
entrants to the profession attended Oxbridge/
Russell Group compared with 75 per cent of traditional
entrants. This variable accounts for most of the variation in
university attended. Conversely many more non-traditional
entrants to the profession studied at ‘1992 universities’ i.e.
the old Polytechnic sector (20% compared with 10% of
those who were called to the Bar aged under 30).
In addition to this, more BME barristers came from 1992
universities (21% compared with 10% of white barristers)
and fewer went to Oxbridge (16% compared with 33% of
But before you say 'Hang on those stats aren't that impressive, what about the massive Oxbridge and private school bias' just imagine what the situation was like before the War. Legal Aid has had a transformative effect on the ability of people from all walks of life to aspire to the Bar and, much more importantly, make that aspiration a reality. I have worked alongside barristers from a startling and invigorating array of backgrounds including a former fireman and a former rough sleeper. What they have all had in common is not privilege but an unwavering intention to put into practice the ideals of justice. They are members of an elite profession but not an elitist one and the distinction is a powerfully important one.
If the Bar as an institution is to afford any value to society it is essential that its standards are of the absolute highest. All that the Bar needs and must demand of its members is an unflinching work ethic and immaculate judgment. Social butterflies and dilettantes are anathema to the criminal Bar of the 21st century. In return barristers are entitled to expect reasonable remuneration from the state for their substantial efforts. And reasonable remuneration does not mean enough to pay school fees or for a small gite in the Dordogne but it definitely means enough to permit repayment over time of debts of up to £60,000 and ownership of a roof over one's head.
This reasonable entitlement and expectation reflects another truth about the Bar. The quality of justice the Bar administers and promotes is only as valuable as it is legitimate. The legitimacy of justice depends on society's acceptance of and investment in it. If the Bar looks and sounds nothing like society then there is every reason to doubt that society will accept the outcomes of its labours. It is for this reason that Equality & Diversity should never be treated as some kind of joke or hobbyhorse of metropolitan liberals. It is in fact of central importance to what the Bar does.
'We have considered the implications of the reforms for the advancement of equality of opportunity and the need to foster good relations. For example, where it has been said in a consultation response that a particular change may affect the participation of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and are under-represented in public life, we have considered the extent to which the proposed changes are compatible with the need to encourage such participation. We consider that where relevant, the reforms do not undermine attainment of those objectives.
For the most part, we do not consider changes in legal aid remuneration to be relevant to the need to advance equality of opportunity or foster good relations. Respondents to the consultation suggested that reductions in levels of remuneration would result in a less diverse Bar, in turn resulting in a less diverse judiciary. We do not consider that the reforms will put women or BAME practitioners at a particular disadvantage over others in practice at the Bar and that this would ultimate reduce the diversity of the pool of practitioners applying for judicial office. However, if there is a particular disadvantage to a particular pool of practitioners with relevant characteristics, we believe our reforms are a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate policy aims set out above.
The primary responsibility of MoJ in administering the legal aid system must be to provide fair and effective legal aid to those clients most in need. While we have taken into account points made by respondents about the potential effect of these reforms on providers and the junior Bar, the specific levels of representation within given practice areas at the Bar and solicitors profession are primarily the responsibility of the BSB and SRA.
Although MoJ is mindful of the need to encourage those with a protected characteristic to participate in public life and the need to advance equality of opportunity generally, MoJ does not believe that legal aid remuneration is the most appropriate policy instrument by which to achieve diversity within the professions or the judiciary. Were the reform to make the attainment of the objectives more difficult, we consider that the changes are necessary and justified in all of the circumstances (including the financial context), for the reasons set out above.'
I have these observations to make:
We do not consider changes in legal aid remuneration to be relevant to the need to advance equality of opportunity or foster good relations - This is a quite remarkably obfuscatory statement. Legal Aid cuts not relevant to the need for the advancement of equality is one thing but only a fool would contend that they are not relevant to the achievement of equality.
We do not consider that the reforms will put women or BAME practitioners at a particular disadvantage over others in practice at the Bar - You will notice absolutely no evidence is provided for this 'considered' opinion. This is because the MoJ knows perfectly well that women and BAME barristers work predominantly at the publicly funded Bar and accordingly Legal Aid cuts will in fact put them at a very particular disadvantage.
Although MoJ is mindful of the need to encourage those with a protected characteristic to participate in public life and the need to advance equality of opportunity generally, MoJ does not believe that legal aid remuneration is the most appropriate policy instrument by which to achieve diversity within the professions or the judiciary - If the MoJ does not believe that paying women and BAME barristers a fair fee for the work that they perform in the public interest is the 'most appropriate policy instrument' for achieving diversity at the Bar it would have been awfully decent of them to say what is.
The overall thrust of the response of course being that the need to save money trumps all other considerations including operating a criminal justice system that enjoys any kind of legitimacy or international esteem. The civil servant responsible for this part of the response is mercifully unnamed and one can only hope it was written through a Sahara desert of gritted teeth.
This and the work I do with the Kalisher Scholarship Trust http://www.thekalishertrust.org/outreach-projects/ enables truly bittersweet interactions with bright and able teenagers of genuinely diverse backgrounds. They are introduced to the work of the Bar through observation, mock trials and debating and put through basic advocacy paces. The latent talent of some of these children is abundantly obvious and to have a clutch of them inspired to say at the conclusion that they would like to aim for the criminal Bar is to feel drawn into the Ministry's grubby deceit. These children can and must be the barristers of the future but setting them on the road without the promise of a living at the end of it would be to traduce the integrity of their dreams.
Last week I visited the Bethnal Green Academy which in a previous incarnation was the alma mater of the Kray twins. In Special Measures in 2007 it is now rated as Outstanding; an appellation which was richly deserved if the day I spent there was typical. The Kalisher team put the children through their paces in the main hall of the school on the wall of which is quoted Nelson Mandela:
'Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.'
I couldn't help but feel that the quote might be more pointedly and usefully displayed at the Ministry of Justice.
Something that I have learnt from my time at the Bar is that diversity isn't just about skin colour it is about experience, expectation and opportunity. What to one child is handed on a plate is to another placed at the pinnacle of Mount Everest. The least we can do as a society is supply some climbing equipment.
