Bar Council chair calls for barrister loan scheme

Geoffrey Vos QC, the chair of the Bar Council, is pushing for the introduction of a bar-endorsed loan scheme for students wanting to join the bar.

Vos, who is head of chambers at 3 Stone Buildings, believes the scheme would make access to the bar more of a level playing field for students who do not have monetary backing from their parents.

Since the introduction of top-up fees, students from poorer social backgrounds end up with up to 40,000 of debt after completing their BVC, which is an insuperable hurdle to overcome, he said.

To push the agenda forward, a working party led by Lord Neuberger kicked off a review of access to the bar last October.

The bar chair wants to see the committee propose the introduction of a loan endorsed by the Bar Council for both BVC and university students.

Vos, who was named The Lawyers Barrister of the Year in 2003, added that the scheme would require a vetting process to entitle a person to a loan. Through this, Vos said, people without the tenacity for the law would be weeded out early on, allowing higher-calibre students to enter the job market.N