7KBW’s Jessica Sutherland, in connection with fellow members of COMBAR’s Gender Equality Sub-Committee Anna Boase KC and Georgina Peters, has written an article for Counsel Magazine, published today, on the principal aims and features of COMBAR’s Best Practice Guidance for Chambers.
Practice at the commercial Bar can be a highly-rewarding career but inequalities remain. COMBAR’s Best Practice Guidance for Chambers was published in November 2025 as an important part of it’s commitment to equality of opportunity for all at the commercial Bar and to finding practical and effective solutions to tackle any barriers to it.
The Counsel article focuses on the Guide’s recommendations to address gender inequality at the commercial Bar, noting the income disparity between both female silks and juniors compared with their male counterparts. The article particularly focuses on fair work allocation, earnings monitoring and parental leave, and suggests systems and policies that Chambers could implement to “effect tangible change”.
A copy of the article can be found here. (P. 31, Counsel Magazine, May 2026 edition).
