Joining Combar

Membership of Combar is open to practising barristers, employed and self-employed, as long as a substantial proportion of their work is commercial and they are regulated by the BSB.

Membership runs from November to November.

Barristers at a set of Chambers where there are ten or more Combar members pay a reduced annual fee of £151.47. All other barristers, self-employed or employed, pay £168.30.

How to apply for Membership

There are no membership forms to apply to join Combar. Instead, please send a short CV and a covering letter to support your application and to evidence compliance with the criteria set out above by email to admin@combar.com. All applications are considered by the Secretary (who will, where necessary, refer the application to the Officers as a whole). Due to the large number of applications Combar receives, a decision may take more than a week.

Honorary membership

COMBAR offers two categories of Honorary Membership: Invitational Honorary Membership; and Ordinary Honorary Membership.

Invitational Honorary Membership is only available by invitation from the Chair, in consultation with the Executive, to current or former Individual Members and carries no subscription fee. It exists to recognise and reward people who have provided extraordinary service to COMBAR.

Ordinary Honorary Membership is open to former Individual Members who have ceased practising as barristers (and hence are not eligible for Individual Membership) but who remain engaged in commercial work, for example as arbitrators or mediators. To apply, email admin@combar.com with details of your previous membership and evidence of your continuing commercial work. Applications are considered by the Secretary, and if an application is accepted, membership is then subject to  payment of the same annual subscription as Individual Membership.

Honorary Overseas Membership

It is not possible to apply for Honorary Overseas Membership. Honorary Overseas Membership of Combar is offered on a selective basis to lawyers who are practising in the commercial field overseas and are invited by the Chair after consultation with the Vice-Chair and the Chair of the International Committee to become an Honorary Overseas Member for a period of four years.  Honorary Overseas Members will usually be practitioners with a well-established practice (at least ten years) specialising in commercial litigation or arbitration and a strong reputation in their jurisdiction.

Pupils and Students

We do not offer pupil or student membership. However, Combar provides assistance for Students wishing to become commercial barristers: please click here for more information. Pupils at Combar member sets, or pupils of Combar individual members, are also very welcome to attend lectures and other educational events organised by Combar.

Full details of the membership categories are set out in the Constitution.