The Inns of Court are conscious of the predicament in which many members of the Bar have been placed as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, and are working urgently on a package of measures to assist those most in need. These include:
(a) Participation in, and an immediate contribution towards, an emergency fund that is imminently being launched by the Barristers’ Benevolent Association to distribute funds to barristers in urgent need; and
(b) Hardship funds provided by each Inn, designed primarily to assist pupils and other junior barristers who are not eligible for either the Government assistance for the self-employed or for help from the BBA.
In addition, the Inns are taking measures to relieve hardship in relation to the rental obligations of Chambers on each Inn’s estate.
Statement by the four Inns of Court