A junior barrister is a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

who has not yet attained the rank of

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. Although the term is archaic and not commonly used, junior barristers (or "juniors") can also be referred to as utter barristers derived from "outer barristers" or barristers of the outer bar, in distinction to King's Counsel at the inner bar. They may also be referred to as stuff gownsmen, in contradistinction to the silk gowns worn by King's Counsel (who are therefore also known as "silks"). When students are

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in jurisdictions which maintain barristers as a separate profession, they are said to be "called to the Degree of an Utter Barrister..." on their certificate of call. This reflects that in English court rooms King's Counsel sits one row further forward than junior barristers (historically, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

sits one row further forward still, although the Attorney General appears so rarely in court in modern times that the convention has largely been abandoned in that respect). Because a relatively small proportion of barristers become King's Counsel, it is quite common for a "junior barrister" to be middle aged. Junior barristers who achieve over 10 years' 'on call' are sometimes referred to as "senior juniors".

Footnotes

Law of the United Kingdom Lawyers by type * {{UK-law-stub

See also

Footnotes