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Transferring from the Roll of Solicitors to the Bar is not a well-trodden path, but for some, like me, it is the one that worked best. Drawing on my journey that started in school debating chambers, detoured through in-house legal teams at global tech companies, and wound back to the Bar via the SQE and Higher Rights of Audience, my article sets out my recommended four stages of moving from solicitor to barrister. The route is demanding, but for those who love advocacy, it can be the most rewarding career decision you’ll ever make.
At the Bar, advocacy is everything. Advocacy is more than speaking confidently; it’s the art of persuading, structuring arguments and adapting on the fly. If that doesn’t excite you, the Bar is not for you.
For me, the love came early. Evenings at my state comprehensive school were spent battling it out in debating competitions, culminating in finals at the local council hall. The thrill of landing a perfectly timed rebuttal was addictive. At university, politics became my academic focus, but debating and then later mooting were my favourite pastime. I also chaired my Students’ Union, sparred in Inter-Inn debates (eventually winning for Gray’s Inn), edited the Gray’s Inn Student Law Journal, and, most memorably, represented the Inn in Vienna at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.
These weren’t just for fun, they were a demonstration of the skills I would later practise professionally. For anyone thinking about the Bar, the takeaway is clear: start building those skills now. Mooting competitions, debating societies or public speaking workshops. Anything that sharpens your ability to persuade others will serve you well.
It’s a myth often perpetuated that being at the Bar is a lifelong dream. But not all barristers start at the Bar. Many of the best barristers I know come via other parts of the legal profession, or even other professions entirely. Solicitors, particularly those with Higher Rights of Audience, bring an understanding of clients, procedure and case preparation that can be invaluable in court.
My own diversion took me in-house. While studying for my professional qualifications, I worked as a paralegal for a fintech company. It was a small team, so responsibility came fast. Later, at Google’s in-house data protection team, I was the sole paralegal. Being a paralegal and solicitor meant dealing with everything from drafting commercial contracts to advising on software licensing, helping HR with employment disputes and working with external counsel on our IP portfolio. In one surreal week, I went from analysing software licences to interpreting the fine print of a coffee bean supply contract. The legal mosaic of different areas and types of law have given me a plethora of experience across commercial, technology and employment law that I can now draw upon for my practice.
Variety, job security and proximity to decision-making drew me down the solicitor route. I don’t regret it: time spent in the business world can make you a better barrister later. Understanding business realities, client priorities and how decisions get made will inform your advocacy in ways pure legal theory never can.
The solicitor qualification process has evolved. For most, the path will be through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) as training contracts are phased out. SQE combines two assessments with two years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). SQE1 is multiple-choice tests of substantive and procedural law. SQE2 focuses on practical legal skills like case and matter analysis, legal writing, drafting, legal research, advocacy and client interviewing.
Some candidates can claim exemptions. Because I had completed the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC), I was exempt from SQE1. That left SQE2 as my remaining qualification to join the Roll. The SQE assessments mirrored the skills I had been using in practice, so for those with substantive experience they do not pose too much of a challenge. With the benefit of hindsight, admission to the Roll was both an end point and a starting line.
If you’re a solicitor with an eye on the Bar, the Higher Rights of Audience exams are the bridge. These civil and criminal assessments test courtroom advocacy, case analysis, procedural knowledge and ethics at the higher court level.
Much of the content was familiar from the BPTC and in an unexpected twist, one of my tutors was a lecturer from those earlier days. Taking these exams in my spare time while working full time was difficult, but the blurring of work and personal life has prepared me for life at the junior end. Phone calls while on holiday are not uncommon. Passing meant I could represent clients in higher courts and gave me the confidence to take the next step.
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) offers a route for solicitors to transfer without pupillage in certain cases. The process involves a detailed application, evidence of advocacy experience and plenty of patience. The BSB’s stated 16-week processing time was, in my case, almost exactly correct.
When the waiver was approved, I moved straight into tenancy. My first months at the Bar have been a reminder that even experienced lawyers are new again when they cross professional boundaries. Direct access clients, last-minute court listing changes, and witness preparation have all required fresh learning. But every skill I’ve gained along the way, from the debating chamber to the boardroom, are now in use daily.
Switching from solicitor to barrister isn’t a shortcut. Instead, it is a career shift that requires dedication, adaptability and a willingness to be the new person in the room again. But for those drawn to advocacy, it’s a move that can feel like coming home.
When I first made the move from in-house to the Bar, I assumed the biggest challenge would be adjusting to self-employment. In reality, the trickier part was stepping into a world where you have to ‘sell’ yourself constantly to chambers, clerks, solicitors and clients. They all need to know who you are and why you add value. Coming from an in-house background where the work simply arrived on my desk, that was a big shift. But I realised quickly that my ability to manage multiple stakeholders internally gave me the resilience and communication skills I now lean on daily when handling new instructions and building trust with solicitors.
One of the greatest hidden strengths I’ve carried across from in-house life is perspective. When you’ve been the client, you know exactly what solicitors and businesses value: concise, pragmatic advice that doesn’t just state the law but shows the options. At the Bar, that insight is powerful. It means I can frame my written opinions and oral advocacy in a way that directly addresses commercial realities, not just the legal theory. I often sense the relief from instructing solicitors when they see I ‘get it’ immediately, because I’ve been in their shoes. They want to be able to go back to the General Counsel with a clear set of options which they understand and can explain clearly.
I love the Bar as a career, and I think it is something you need to love. Life on this side of the leap is demanding but incredibly rewarding. The independence is real: I decide how I want to run my practice, what areas I want to grow and I can lean into my natural strengths. For me, that has been written and oral advocacy which was something I never fully got to develop in-house. I know that once you’ve had a taste of standing up, making your case, and winning the room, whether it’s in a school debate, an arbitration moot, or a court of law, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else.
Phoebe Whitlock was called in 2019 and went on to practise as a Solicitor Advocate at a number of technology companies before coming to the Bar. She is a barrister at Lamb Chambers, with a practice focusing on intellectual property, technology, and commercial law.
Transferring from the Roll of Solicitors to the Bar is not a well-trodden path, but for some, like me, it is the one that worked best. Drawing on my journey that started in school debating chambers, detoured through in-house legal teams at global tech companies, and wound back to the Bar via the SQE and Higher Rights of Audience, my article sets out my recommended four stages of moving from solicitor to barrister. The route is demanding, but for those who love advocacy, it can be the most rewarding career decision you’ll ever make.
At the Bar, advocacy is everything. Advocacy is more than speaking confidently; it’s the art of persuading, structuring arguments and adapting on the fly. If that doesn’t excite you, the Bar is not for you.
For me, the love came early. Evenings at my state comprehensive school were spent battling it out in debating competitions, culminating in finals at the local council hall. The thrill of landing a perfectly timed rebuttal was addictive. At university, politics became my academic focus, but debating and then later mooting were my favourite pastime. I also chaired my Students’ Union, sparred in Inter-Inn debates (eventually winning for Gray’s Inn), edited the Gray’s Inn Student Law Journal, and, most memorably, represented the Inn in Vienna at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.
These weren’t just for fun, they were a demonstration of the skills I would later practise professionally. For anyone thinking about the Bar, the takeaway is clear: start building those skills now. Mooting competitions, debating societies or public speaking workshops. Anything that sharpens your ability to persuade others will serve you well.
It’s a myth often perpetuated that being at the Bar is a lifelong dream. But not all barristers start at the Bar. Many of the best barristers I know come via other parts of the legal profession, or even other professions entirely. Solicitors, particularly those with Higher Rights of Audience, bring an understanding of clients, procedure and case preparation that can be invaluable in court.
My own diversion took me in-house. While studying for my professional qualifications, I worked as a paralegal for a fintech company. It was a small team, so responsibility came fast. Later, at Google’s in-house data protection team, I was the sole paralegal. Being a paralegal and solicitor meant dealing with everything from drafting commercial contracts to advising on software licensing, helping HR with employment disputes and working with external counsel on our IP portfolio. In one surreal week, I went from analysing software licences to interpreting the fine print of a coffee bean supply contract. The legal mosaic of different areas and types of law have given me a plethora of experience across commercial, technology and employment law that I can now draw upon for my practice.
Variety, job security and proximity to decision-making drew me down the solicitor route. I don’t regret it: time spent in the business world can make you a better barrister later. Understanding business realities, client priorities and how decisions get made will inform your advocacy in ways pure legal theory never can.
The solicitor qualification process has evolved. For most, the path will be through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) as training contracts are phased out. SQE combines two assessments with two years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). SQE1 is multiple-choice tests of substantive and procedural law. SQE2 focuses on practical legal skills like case and matter analysis, legal writing, drafting, legal research, advocacy and client interviewing.
Some candidates can claim exemptions. Because I had completed the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC), I was exempt from SQE1. That left SQE2 as my remaining qualification to join the Roll. The SQE assessments mirrored the skills I had been using in practice, so for those with substantive experience they do not pose too much of a challenge. With the benefit of hindsight, admission to the Roll was both an end point and a starting line.
If you’re a solicitor with an eye on the Bar, the Higher Rights of Audience exams are the bridge. These civil and criminal assessments test courtroom advocacy, case analysis, procedural knowledge and ethics at the higher court level.
Much of the content was familiar from the BPTC and in an unexpected twist, one of my tutors was a lecturer from those earlier days. Taking these exams in my spare time while working full time was difficult, but the blurring of work and personal life has prepared me for life at the junior end. Phone calls while on holiday are not uncommon. Passing meant I could represent clients in higher courts and gave me the confidence to take the next step.
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) offers a route for solicitors to transfer without pupillage in certain cases. The process involves a detailed application, evidence of advocacy experience and plenty of patience. The BSB’s stated 16-week processing time was, in my case, almost exactly correct.
When the waiver was approved, I moved straight into tenancy. My first months at the Bar have been a reminder that even experienced lawyers are new again when they cross professional boundaries. Direct access clients, last-minute court listing changes, and witness preparation have all required fresh learning. But every skill I’ve gained along the way, from the debating chamber to the boardroom, are now in use daily.
Switching from solicitor to barrister isn’t a shortcut. Instead, it is a career shift that requires dedication, adaptability and a willingness to be the new person in the room again. But for those drawn to advocacy, it’s a move that can feel like coming home.
When I first made the move from in-house to the Bar, I assumed the biggest challenge would be adjusting to self-employment. In reality, the trickier part was stepping into a world where you have to ‘sell’ yourself constantly to chambers, clerks, solicitors and clients. They all need to know who you are and why you add value. Coming from an in-house background where the work simply arrived on my desk, that was a big shift. But I realised quickly that my ability to manage multiple stakeholders internally gave me the resilience and communication skills I now lean on daily when handling new instructions and building trust with solicitors.
One of the greatest hidden strengths I’ve carried across from in-house life is perspective. When you’ve been the client, you know exactly what solicitors and businesses value: concise, pragmatic advice that doesn’t just state the law but shows the options. At the Bar, that insight is powerful. It means I can frame my written opinions and oral advocacy in a way that directly addresses commercial realities, not just the legal theory. I often sense the relief from instructing solicitors when they see I ‘get it’ immediately, because I’ve been in their shoes. They want to be able to go back to the General Counsel with a clear set of options which they understand and can explain clearly.
I love the Bar as a career, and I think it is something you need to love. Life on this side of the leap is demanding but incredibly rewarding. The independence is real: I decide how I want to run my practice, what areas I want to grow and I can lean into my natural strengths. For me, that has been written and oral advocacy which was something I never fully got to develop in-house. I know that once you’ve had a taste of standing up, making your case, and winning the room, whether it’s in a school debate, an arbitration moot, or a court of law, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
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Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
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At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
