THE MOVIES, TV dramas and real-life legal cases involving celebrities have brought more than a touch of glamour to that elite group of lawyers known as barristers. In a city like Hong Kong, some senior counsel can earn as much as $10 million or more from just one case. Such impressive financial rewards only serve to enhance the allure of a profession whose practitioners still wear the traditional black gowns and grey wigs when appearing in open court.
The barrister's role is to provide specialist services in litigation and advocacy by preparing and presenting cases for trial. Those in private practice are self-employed, but most senior counsel join a set of chambers, an arrangement that allows them to pool resources and share many of the costs involved in running a business. Each chamber member is known as a tenant and has a say in how things are run.
'A young barrister will typically earn $1,000 an hour for paperwork and $8,000 to $10,000 per court day doing civil work. Monthly expenditure is usually in the range of $8,000 to $30,000 for each tenant,' said Jeremy Chan, a tenant at the chambers of Denis Chang SC. Mr Chan, who was called to the bar in 2000, said the autonomy of the profession was one of the strong attractions, apart from the prospect of high financial rewards. 'You are your own boss from the start,' he said.
This aspect, among other things, also attracted Willard Li.
'A number of my friends were barristers and I liked what I heard about the nature of the work,' said Mr Li, who obtained a degree in business administration in the United States and worked as a banker for four years before deciding to train for the bar. 'It seemed more interesting than banking and gave you the opportunity to meet a diversity of people and encounter different scenarios in life.'
The basic requirement is a degree in law or another
