The Specialist Commercial Bar & Black Inclusion

'The Specialist Commercial Bar & Black Inclusion – First Steps', was commissioned by the three SBAs (COMBAR, ChBA and Tecbar). It is authored by the Black Inclusion Group (“BIG”) Committee, a sub-committee of five practicing barristers, to research outreach, recruitment, retention, progression and the culture of the Bar for Black barristers. The work follows, and adds to, the important work of the Bar Council’s Race Working Group in its report dated November 2021. The Specialist Commercial Bar is failing to attract, recruit and retain Black barristers, as demonstrated by the relatively low success rate of Black applicants for pupillage, the paucity of Black silks and the apparent lack of any full time Black High Court Judges. The outcomes for Black barristers are notably worse than for other ethnic minorities.