This page aims to give you an overview of some statistics that you may want to consider when deciding on law, or if you are contemplating whether to become a barrister or solicitor. You might want to think about the differences in training vacancies, salaries and even the trends in successful applications to university.
Legal Profession Statistics
Solicitors
Barristers
Number of practising solicitors/barristers (2015)
133,837
15,899
Number of TC/Pupillages available (2015)
5,457
437
Number of Firms/Chambers in the UK (2016)
10,306
409
Solicitor v Barrister Salary Statistics
This table compares the salary ranges for solicitors and barristers, from trainee level to those newly qualified.
Level of experience
Solicitor
Barrister
Trainee Level
£18,000-43,000+
£12,000-60,000+
Newly Qualified
£50,000-90,000+
£73,000-300,000+
Funding for LPC/BPTC
Yes
Yes
The table below shows the average trainee salary of barristers and solicitors at different types of chambers and firms.
Type of Firm/Chambers
Solicitor
Barrister
High street
18,000
12,000
Regional
27,850
17,800
City
38,679
68,333
Average Barristers’ Salaries: Practice Area Statistics
The following table compares the practice area of law with average barristers’ salaries.
Practice area
Average NQ Barrister Salary
Commercial
70,000
Criminal
20,000
Family
20,000
Law at University Statistics
The table below shows the number of applications to study law at university in the UK and overseas, as well as the percentage of successful applications.
UK
Overseas
Total
Number of law applications to university in the UK (2015-2016)
23,885
33,010
56,895
Number of law students accepted to university in the UK (2015-2016)
