The claimants in this case were self-employed barristers in private practice in Northern Ireland. The claimants had similar characteristics in that they had previously worked as solicitors before transferring to the Bar.  The respondents were the governing bodies of barristers in Northern Ireland.   The case focused upon age discrimination in relation to the workings of a fee subsidy scheme.  The fee subsidy scheme worked on the basis that where an individual who transferred from the solicitor profession would enter into the sliding scale (up to the maximum of seven years) of the subsidy scheme.   All three claimants had been solicitors for longer than seven years prior to being called to the Bar and for that