THE Bar Council has issued a warning to would-be legal eagles: there are too many barristers in training and at least one-third of qualified lawyers struggle to find work.

“There are more barristers than work available and it is a serious concern,” said Hugh Mohan, a senior counsel and chairman of the Bar Council, which represents 1,750 lawyers.

Hardship at the lower end of the profession is endemic. The shortage of work has been compounded by an increase in the number of barristers qualifying and the collapse in the number of personal injury cases since the establishment of the Personal Injury Assessment Board.

Up to half of new entrants leave the bar within the first eight years and there are now four-year waiting lists for some “masters”, junior counsel who lead unpaid “devils” through their first year of practice.

“There has recently been no restriction on the numbers of new barristers coming down to the bar,” said Mohan. “Young people and others hoping to train as barristers should be aware that it is more competitive than ever before.”

The proliferation of tribunals, which has created a number of law-library millionaires, means barristers will get little public sympathy for their plight. But last week, at a behind-closed-doors meeting, the Bar Council agreed to a series of reforms in order to restore public confidence in the profession.

Twelve motions were passed by more than two-thirds of barristers who attended the extraordinary general meeting at the Four Courts last Monday. Hailed as the largest single reform in the history of the profession, barristers will, for the first time, be able to hire other barristers to do work for them. Restrictions have also been eased on barristers becoming solicitors and vice versa.

In a pre-emptive strike against the Competition Authority (CA) and the prospect of external regulation, the Bar Council has introduced 49 rule changes to its code of conduct.

Although the legal profession has been dubbed the “fattest, sleekest and best nurtured cubs of the Celtic tiger”, last week’s meeting of barristers was a fraught affair. The motions were passed only after Paul Gallagher, a senior counsel and competition law expert, delivered what observers called a “stunning” oration to scores of doubting Thomases who were unsure about the reforms. Gallagher warned barristers that it was an “all or nothing” situation and if the Bar Council failed to eradicate anti-competitive practices, its hand would be forced by the CA.

Last year the authority produced a scathing interim report on the legal profession and will produce a final report this year.

Under the new rules, lawyers will be obliged to indicate how much they will charge clients before undertaking work. They will only be able to charge fees based upon work done.

The new rules also allow cash-strapped barristers to take on a wide range of work outside the profession. Until last week barristers could work outside the bar only as journalists, politicians and academics.

The new rules increase direct professional access to barristers, who will be allowed to advertise their services. The Bar Council has retained the right for barristers to operate as sole traders.

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