Called to the bar

The expression 'to be called to the bar' means: to become qualified as a barrister (in Scotland, an advocate), i.e., to become a lawyer with the right to present a case on behalf of a client before a judge in one of the higher courts. See further barrister - solicitor.

In order to become a barrister it is necessary after graduating from university to enrol as a student at one of the four Inns of Court in London and complete either the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) or the Bar Vocational Course (BVC). The ceremony which marks the successful completion of this period of training and, therefore, the student's fitness to practise as a barrister is known as the Call to the Bar ceremony.

This ceremony is held in the student's Inn of Court, and its name derives from the arrangement of the courtroom in times past when a wooden bar or barrier divided the area around the judge from the usually crowded public area. A barrister would stand immediately behind this bar or barrier to present his case and could use the barrier as a table on which to place his brief.

Distinguish the expressions 'called to the bar' and 'called within the bar'. Whereas the former means: to become a barrister, the latter means: to be made a Queen's Counsel, i.e., a barrister appointed Counsel to the Crown - in effect, a senior member of the profession . A Queen's Counsel (often abbreviated to Q.C.) is entitled to sit within the bar or barrier of the court, i.e., closer to the judge than the other, less senior barristers.

The Bar (usually with an initial capital letter) refers to barristers collectively, as in 'The Bar is strongly opposed to the recent cuts to legal aid.'