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Cliff Buddle

THE IMAGE OF THE fat-cat barrister raking in the cash is one which has survived the economic downturn.

But the reality is very different for many barristers in the early stages of their career. They often face financial hardship during their training and, once qualified, struggle to find work. Some cannot even afford to pay the rent on their business premises.

Young barristers, referred to in Hong Kong as YBs, are now being nicknamed 'young beggars'.

'It is much more difficult these days for young barristers to get their names known, to get the business in and, therefore, to survive,' said Donald Leo, chairman of the Bar Association's young barristers' committee.

He traces the problem back to the economic crisis of 1997 when graduates found themselves unable to get jobs with law firms and opted for the Bar as an alternative.

The market was swamped and solicitors hiring barristers for their clients began to regard the rookies as not being up to scratch.

'This is rather unfair, although it is understandable because solicitors have to answer to their clients,' said Mr Leo.

While top lawyers can command $30,000 an hour or more, many young barristers now charge $1,000 an hour or less in a bid to attract business. Some offer fixed fees for a case, however long it takes.

They face many obstacles. Positions for trainees at premises where groups of established barristers work - known as chambers - are becoming harder to find. When they qualify, the lack of work can leave them unable to pay the monthly rent for their room which can be as much as $40,000.

The Bar Association is so worried it is setting up free accommodation in Central for about 12 young barristers, selected on merit. They will be able to work there for up to a year rent-free, after which it is hoped they will be able to find places at other chambers.

'I think the Bar Association has to do what it can to nurture the young,' said association chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit, SC.

He expressed concern that bright law students were opting for jobs as solicitors, where they can earn as much as $80,000 a month once they qualify, instead of facing the financial uncertainty of life as a barrister.

But the free accommodation idea has been controversial. Some argue that barristers who take up the offer of a 'tenancy' there will be automatically regarded as second class.

'In Hong Kong, if you do not have the right jewellery, the right clothes, or you do not come from the right chambers, you are perceived as also-rans. I worry that those at the rent-free chambers will be perceived by solicitors as people who cannot get a tenancy elsewhere,' said one barrister.

Deeper questions remain. There have been suggestions that rather than providing rent-free accommodation, the Bar should be seeking to ensure chambers provide young barristers with more support.

Some experienced barristers believe new entrants to the profession should not be nurtured. It is all about survival of the fittest.

In Britain, trainee barristers are paid and more effort is put into ensuring they get work. Senior barristers there are more likely to pass on work to less-experienced colleagues.

'I think it is difficult in Hong Kong because chambers here, except for two or three, do not have a corporate view of development,' said Mr Leong. In Britain, chambers tended to take a long-term view, looking to bring in new talent and nurture it.  Clive Grossman, SC, said the Hong Kong system could be described as 'the survival of the richest'. Those who had the financial support to battle through the early years were likely to succeed.

He said the system is different in England, where chambers have clerks responsible for getting in the work. In Hong Kong, barristers obtain work directly from solicitors. 'There is no equality of distribution of work within chambers here,' said Mr Grossman.

Another senior barrister, Neville Sarony, SC, said there was a need for Hong Kong chambers to be more structured in order to better educate and develop young talent.

'If I had my way I would change the system of chambers in Hong Kong overnight because I think it is inimical to the development of a strong Bar,' he added.

Within each set of chambers there should be experienced people that young barristers can turn to. 'There should be a graduated ladder which you can climb, step by step, increasing the work that you do as you go along. We do not have that in Hong Kong,' said Mr Sarony.

The one-year training period has also come under scrutiny. Stories abound of 'pupil' barristers being treated as skivvies or used as adornments for their 'pupil masters', the senior barristers they are attached to. One group of trainee barristers is said to have been excited when invited by their pupil master to a party attended by prominent lawyers and judges. But when they got there, they were asked to serve the drinks.

Steps have been taken by the Bar to attempt some limited form of monitoring. Its code of conduct spells out the duties of pupil masters. Trainee barristers must fill in a log setting out the work they have done.

'We are quite conscious of possible abuses . . . but to a large extent we have to count on the members to honour their obligations,' said Mr Leong.

Consideration has been given to making it compulsory for senior barristers to pay their trainees. But a survey last year revealed most pupil masters were against the idea. There is a fear that such a move would deter senior barristers from taking on trainees and lead to even fewer places being available.

Vandana Rajwani, former chairwoman of the young barristers' committee, said chambers could help by taking practical steps such as allowing barristers to share rooms and subsidising their rent.

'But to genuinely address these problems there needs to be a holistic approach and a forum to discuss these issues and come up with solutions,' she added.

Despite the problems, Mr Leo, current chairman of the committee, struck a positive note.  'Young barristers have two advantages. They are cheap and they are cheerful,' he said.

Proposed legal reforms which may allow barristers to publish their fees might help the public realise that the young, inexperienced members of the profession are good value for money, Mr Leo added.

In the meantime, they still have to live with the public perception that becoming a lawyer is a passport to wealth. 'We are not all fat cats,' said Mr Leo.

Cliff Buddle edits the Post's opinion pages



'Young beggars' among the fat cats