Sexuality at the Bar: An Empirical Exploration into the Experiences of LGBT+ Barristers in England & Wales

Abstract

The Bar of England & Wales is an historic, traditional institution of courtroom advocates and specialist advisers that can trace its origins back to the 13th century. As a field of study, there is comparatively little academic work on barristers. Where work has been done on the Bar, and in relation to diversity at the Bar, this has tended to focus either wholly or primarily on women barristers and suggests patterns of inequality, exclusion and forms of direct and indirect discrimination. Like the other branches of the legal profession in England and Wales, the Bar does not reflect the society it serves. In their world-first research, ‘Sexuality at the Bar’, Mason and Vaughan show a variety of complex practices which govern where (and when and how) LGBT+ members of the Bar feel comfortable being open about their sexuality as well as highlighting a significant number of LGBT+ barristers who have experienced work related bullying and/or discrimination. Their work also suggests an increasing role for Bar-specific LGBT+ networks and the value of LGBT+ role models, both at the Bar and in the judiciary.