Last night at the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) dinner at Middle Temple Hall, CBA chair Max Hill QC delivered what must rank as one of the bleakest speeches in the history of the legal profession.

According to Hill, the barristers’ role within the criminal justice system is becoming increasingly less viable, the government is “obsessed by money”, and criminal barristers (89% of whom are willing to strike partly due to delays in payment from the Legal Services Commission) face “heartache, depression and personal bankruptcy”. The speech is published in full below.

Of course, the criminal bar has been in trouble for some time now, with earnings for those at its junior end having fallen to embarrassingly low levels. To give you a flavour, here is an extract from a devastating 2009 article by former criminal barrister Alex Deane (the article is now hidden deep behind Legal Week’s paywall).

“Don't go to the Criminal Bar. I can't put it strongly enough. Don't do it. It is a mug's game...It's not a proper job. It's a hobby, and a pleasant one for those with an independent income - but you simply cannot make a living from it in the first four or five years...

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