Two non resident Indian lawyers, including Kalyani Kaul, daughter of former British Broadcasting Corporation television producer for Asian Programmes Mahendra Kaul, are among the highest paid barristers in Britain, a government report has revealed.
Kalyani Kaul, the only woman to make the grade, came in at number three with earnings of 766,000 pounds (about Rs 6 crore) and the other NRI Balbir Singh came fifth in the list of 10 with earnings worth 750,000 pounds (about 5.5 crore) in 2004-05.
Kalyani Kaul was called to the Bar in 1982. Her father, Mahendra Kaul, the first Asian to be honoured with the Order of British Empire in 1975, told PTI Friday night, "I feel she works very very hard, which sometimes makes me very unhappy."
The report revealed that James Sturman QC who acted for Jose Mourinho, Chelsea football manager, in the Ashley Cole 'tapping up' case earned the highest 1,180,000 pounds (about 9 crore) in 2004-05 followed by Simon Bourne-Arton QC 902,000 pounds.
Others listed in the top 10 are: 4) Gilbert Gray QC 755,000 pounds (about 5.9 crore), 6) Peter Griffiths QC 690,000 pounds (about 5 crore) (7) Trevor Burke QC 683,000 pounds (about 5 crore) 8) Thomas Derbyshire 668,000 pounds (about 5 crore) 9) George Carter-Stephenson 653,000 pounds (about 5 crore) and 10) David Spens QC 639,000 pounds (about 5 crore).
Labour member of Parliament Andrew Dismore, whose parliamentary question elicited the information, said: "They're just astronomical figures. Nobody is worth that sort of money from public funds. What it shows is how the legal aid system has become absolutely skewed towards a few fat cats, whereas those who are doing the donkey work in the magistrates courts and in the crown court are feeling the pinch."
© 2026