Being well at the Bar

The Bar Council is the representative voice of the profession in England and Wales, and we have 18,000 members comprised of self-employed and employed barristers. When I became chair of the Bar in January, I pledged to prioritise barristers’ mental health and wellbeing this year.

Psychological wellbeing within the profession is rarely spoken about, and yet our ‘Wellbeing at the Bar’ report 2024 highlighted that 23.7% of barristers who responded to our survey reported low psychological wellbeing, and 31.4% of respondents indicated they weren’t coping. The Bar Council seeks to address and support the wellbeing challenges faced in the profession.

Women, barristers from an ethnic minority background, younger and more junior barristers all reported lower levels of wellbeing compared to their colleagues. Further, there are particular challenges in certain practice areas. Barristers working in criminal and family law reported significantly lower