Actually, I'm about to lose all my hair - all 20 inches of it - thanks to chemotherapy. But the process of removing chunks of hair will be greatly eased by securing donations to support pupil criminal barristers.

AND as of 27 April, Ciara Bartlam (Young Legal Aid Lawyers Committee member, barrister at Garden Court North Chambers and trustee at Greater Manchester Law Centre) is adding her hair to the pile to show her support for the junior criminal Bar. See further down to find out more..

"Why are you fundraising for pupil criminal barristers? Aren't they rich fat cat lawyers like I read in the press?"

Firstly, no. The average criminal barrister take-home pay was £27,000 in 2013 and fees (set by government) have decreased since then. You don't even earn that until you're well past the pupillage year *and* you have to work way more hours than the average person to earn anything close.

Secondly see image 2 in the gallery above. Yes, there are more nuances to pupillages etc. than my quick bodge job graphics can convey (I'm sorry, criminal Bar!), but the short version is that pupillages - a compulsory year-long process to be able to practice as a barrister - are on the endangered list for the criminal Bar. Criminal pupillages largely depend on funding from that same self-employed community where the average take-home pay was £27,000 in 2013.

The gallery also highlights some anonymous examples of the current state of our criminal justice system. The lack of funds to support pupillages is happening when we need criminal barristers more than ever to help deal with a massive backlog of cases.

The Bar of England & Wales is doing what it can to help fund some criminal pupillages - funding from other chambers, the Inns of Court, the Council of the Inns of Court, plus existing bursaries from charities such as the Kalisher Trust.

In contrast my contribution has been to inadvertently develop breast cancer, reach the point in chemotherapy where my hair will soon start falling out, and realise this is the one moment in my life when I can quite literally tear my hair out at the state of the criminal justice system.

So I might as well embrace it and ask for donations to support the next generation of wannabe criminal barristers to help ensure access to justice isn't completely destroyed.

Your donation will help somebody - perhaps somebody who is the first person in their family to go to university, somebody who wants to ensure their community is represented at the criminal Bar - to complete the final stage of being able to practice as a criminal law barrister.

You can donate on this page (adding Gift Aid if eligible) and Middle and Inner Temple will use every penny to support future pupil barristers at the criminal bar. "How" depends on the sum raised: a grant to top up a pupillage award; a matched funding grant to cover the first six months of pupillage; a fully funded pupillage..?

--------------------------------------------

Wait - what? Middle AND Inner?!

Yes - you read correctly.

I was originally going to have two pages fundraising for each of Inner and Middle Temple - nothing like a spot of healthy competition between Inns to help push up the donations :-D

To cut a long story short, JustGiving's behind-the-scenes processes are not going to keep pace with my rate of hair loss in time for both pages to go live.

But behind the inter-Inn rivalry is a shared commitment to supporting access to justice. The lovely team at Middle Temple have kindly agreed to accept donations from supporters of Middle and Inner Temple; and to share those donations with Inner Temple so that support can be provided to criminal pupils at both Inns.

So please - whether you are an Inner or a Middle-r; whether you know more people at one or the other; whether you prefer doughnuts with jammy Middles or doughnuts with empty Inner rings; whether you have found your Inner peace or are in the Middle of chaos - donate here and know that both will be supported.

Updated on 27 April: 

Throughout my career I’ve been fortunate to be in a role that lets me see the very best of the legal profession coming together and it turns out this fundraiser is no exception. This week I was contacted by Ciara Bartlam, a barrister at Garden Court North Chambers and a member of the Young Legal Aid Lawyers Committee and trustee at the Greater Manchester Law Centre. Ciara has been growing her  hair for some time and it is Extremely Long and she asked if she could join me in chopping her hair off to help boost fundraising efforts.

I don’t get a choice about losing my hair: Ciara does. Ciara doesn’t even know me*, or the wannabe pupil barristers, yet she’s choosing to chop all of her hair off to show her support. HOW INCREDIBLE IS CIARA?!

*obviously she does, now.

In Ciara's own words: "Just so you know, this isn’t the first time I’ve chopped my hair off… I did it once in 2014 and it took me right back to the ‘Austen Powers’ years of my childhood (yes, I had a haircut that really did make me look like AP aged 11). I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t a great look and I’m not totally eager to be hairless again but what better cause is there than this?! Thank you, Rebecca, for everything you’re doing. You’re amazing, the criminal Bar is amazing and the pair of you can have my hair any day of the week!"

--------------------------------------------

Whatever your reason, I'm (we're!) mostly hoping that you understand why I (we!) think this is the best - the only - place that a donation supporting me (us) should be channeled right now, in the name of ensuring access to justice.

Thanks for considering a donation - Rebecca & Ciara

"I don't believe a word of it - all lawyers are rich, and the criminal justice system is massively overfunded." Please check out the Secret Barrister's FAQ page, where you will find a number of helpful points to counter your beliefs about the criminal justice system: https://thesecretbarrister.com/frequently-asked-questions/

----------------------------------------------

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.