Race and Ethnicity

The race and ethnicity sub-committee was formed in June 2020, to build upon the work already being done by COMBAR’s E&D committee in this area. Following the success of COMBAR’s gender equality initiatives, the Executive Committee felt it appropriate to establish a targeted sub-committee focusing on race and ethnicity issues.

The committee is working alongside COMBAR’s E&D committee, with the key objectives of supporting and enhancing inclusion, participation and progression of individuals of all races and ethnicities at the commercial bar, and promoting those aims with the judiciary and within the arbitration sphere, and has already commenced a number of initiatives.

Please contact the Combar Administrator if you would like further details about its work.

Meet Combar’s members

Meet our members

The Commercial Bar is a diverse profession which welcomes individuality and seeks to recruit the very best people irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Moreover, the range of work undertaken by barristers specialising in commercial law is also diverse and no two practices will be identical.

The following profiles are from barristers who have volunteered to share their stories of coming to the Bar and the work that they do. Siddharth and Charlotte’s profiles below also give you some information about a typical day in the life of a barrister at the self-employed and employed Bars respectively. We hope their stories inspire the next generation of barristers.

A day in the life of a commercial barrister – Siddharth Dhar KC, Essex Court Chambers

A day in the life of an employed barrister – Charlotte Pope-Williams, Pinsent Masons LLP

Conall Patton KC, One Essex Court

Kendrah Potts, 4 New Square Chambers

Kira King, South Square

Craig Williams, Quadrant Chambers

Farhaz Khan KC, 3VB

Stephen Du, 7KBW

Zahra Al-Rikabi, Brick Court Chambers

Careers at the Commercial Bar

What is a commercial barrister?

A barrister is a specialist lawyer who is referred complex legal disputes by a solicitor and, often, will be responsible for presenting the arguments in court. A commercial barrister is one who specialises in legal issues in the broad field of business and finance, often with an international element. Many commercial barristers are self-employed, although they share premises and expenses with other barristers in ‘sets of chambers’.

Waste treatment policies have promoted sustainable development.

Why choose a career at the Commercial Bar?

A career at the Commercial Bar is varied and intellectually stimulating, as well as potentially well-paid. Barristers often deal with complex and novel legal problems. Commercial work is varied and challenging.

The key benefits of a career at the Commercial Bar include:

The opportunity to be a specialist advocate, dealing with complex problems across a variety of commercial situations, cross-examining witnesses and using your intellect, skill and powers of persuasion.
Independence and a sense of control over when and in what circumstances you work.
Travel to centres of international finance and business such as Hong Kong, New York, Dubai, Singapore and offshore jurisdictions.
Pro-bono work on behalf of those in need of assistance but without the necessary funds.
Financial rewards.

Who should become a commercial barrister?

The Commercial Bar is a thoroughly modern profession which is open to anyone with the right skills, whatever their personal background or circumstances. There is no ‘typical’ commercial barrister, or typical background, and many barristers do not follow ‘traditional’ routes into the profession. The ‘traditional’ image of a barrister wearing a wig and a gown does not apply: barristers in the Commercial Court wear business attire, not suits and gowns.

If you are a student or graduate with:

a high level of intellectual ability;
articulate and persuasive written and spoken English skills;
an ability to think and communicate clearly under pressure;
determination, self-reliance and a strong work ethic;

then a career at the Commercial Bar should be high up your list of potential careers.

The Commercial Bar is also a diverse profession. It welcomes individuality and seeks to recruit the very best people irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Combar positively encourages individuals from groups which are currently underrepresented in the profession to consider a career at the Commercial Bar. Click here to read some personal stories from some of Combar’s members about their journey to practising at the Commercial Bar and about the work they do.