Message from the Chair

Welcome to Combar’s website.

Combar is the specialist Bar association for commercial barristers advising the international business community. Our membership is made up of over 2,000 commercial barristers who provide specialist advice, advocacy, and mediation services in relation to commercial law for businesses, individuals, and other organisations. A good deal of this work is heard in the Commercial Court, which in 2025 celebrated its 130th anniversary, but Combar members appear as counsel in all the courts of England and Wales, as well as acting in dispute resolution processes in all forms – litigation, arbitration, and mediation – taking place all over the world. Our members work closely not just with solicitors in this jurisdiction, but with law firms and co-counsel in every corner of the globe, and our international committee addresses our members’ practices in the USA & Canada, off-shore jurisdictions, Europe, India, the Gulf and Africa.  Further information on how to instruct a commercial barrister is found here.

I hope that you will find our website useful, and I am extremely grateful to the senior Officers, the entire Executive, and all those who give up time to work tirelessly on delivering our important programme.  Central to this is the provision of top-class monthly and annual lectures on key issues in commercial law, which are provided by leading commercial practitioners, academics, and senior members of the judiciary. Many of these lectures are recorded and made available in the members’ library.

On the website you will find extensive information about the work of Combar and upcoming events .  

Combar is committed to equality and diversity and is actively pursuing a number of initiatives to ensure that exceptional individuals can apply to, progress, and succeed at the Commercial Bar, regardless of background or personal circumstances: click here for more information. Consistently with this, Combar also funds targeted scholarships to encourage exceptional students from all and any backgrounds to apply for a career at the English Commercial Bar. Any students interested in finding out more about becoming a commercial barrister should click here.

Combar is also committed to supporting its members’ practices through developing their professional wellbeing. To that end, Combar runs a successful mentoring scheme for practitioners: click here. Combar has also established a scheme which aims to assist those looking to apply to the Commercial Bar from disadvantaged backgrounds. The scheme opened for its fourth year in 2025.

Combar is also keen to encourage juniors to participate, not only in the UK education programme, but through attendance and participation in the international events and by engaging with Junior Combar and the work that Combar is doing to support junior advocacy. Find out more about Junior Combar here.

If you would like to learn more about Combar’s work, or have any queries, please contact Combar’s Administrator here.

Henry King KC, Chair of Combar