young barristers would agree that it is worth any hardship entailed. You will realise that contempories forging careers in other professions have to make similar sacrifices in their social lives - without the benefits that self-employment brings. Remember, you can do much of your preparation from the comfort of your own home.
to generalise about life as a junior tenant. Your experience will depend on your area of practice and your chambers. Sometimes junior tenants are "led" by their seniors, that is they assist them in large, important cases, but in general they are accountable to their own clients for their own cases. Barristers specialising in criminal law are likely to spend a great deal of time in court. Others will probably attend court less frequently, especially if they are involved with cases that settle. In both categories, there will be considerable paper work.
the other hand, it is difficult to get used to the irregularity of the work and working hours as a junior tenant. Even if you get a considerable volume of work in your early years, payment for it is likely to lag some time behind. In stark contrast vto payment timescales, you may be given very little notice of court appearances. Briefs can arrive by fax in the evening, leaving little time to prepare for a case to be heard a hundred miles away the next morning. What you lose in terms of social life and excessive travelling, you will more than make up for in terms of relief that you are getting enough work.In
addition to normal living expenses, you will also have to budget for your share towards the cost of running chambers. Sometimes this is calculated on the basis of a percentage of income, with the result that young barristers can pay a great deal less thantheir senior colleagues. However, this is not always the case.