In March 2019 I joined Monckton Chambers having spent five years in independent practice as a QC and a partner at litigation boutique Joseph Have Aaronson from December 2014. I have been in practice at the Bar since 1976 and was head of chambers at Stone Chambers in Gray’s Inn for 15 years before joining JHA.
It is not that common for lawyers to move between the two branches of the legal profession in England and Wales – solicitors and barristers. We have different training and career paths which usually mean that as soon as you choose your route, you are either one type of lawyer or the other.
The Bar accounts for approximately 10% of practising lawyers in the UK; the lion share of the remaining 90% being solicitors. Approximately 80% of barristers are self-employed but that still leaves a good 20% at ‘the employed Bar’, with excellent and rewarding roles for barristers within companies, public sector, and of course, as in my case, law firms. It is, however, just because of sheer numbers, more common for solicitors to transfer to the Bar, often later in their careers, seeking the many benefits of the independence of a barrister’s life.
Since joining Monckton Chambers in March 2019, I am frequently asked why a return to chambers? The answer is not that complex. Quite simply, I like being a barrister and all that entails but in particular arguing cases and using my knowledge to be persuasive.
Running a legal team in a firm is different to running a case as a barrister; in returning to the Bar, I am simply choosing to run cases again. I chose Monckton because it is a top set of chambers with an established international reputation, with first-class colleagues, excellent clerks and working conditions. Timing was perfect as Monckton was actively expanding its commercial litigation and arbitration expertise and several new members of this practice were individuals with whom I had already worked with over the years. In brief, Monckton is a great place for a barrister, preparing and arguing cases and using an encyclopaedic knowledge.
We are all richer for being able to look at situations from different perspectives and this is most certainly true of my last five years’ experience with a law firm. The boutique law firm gave me experience of a very different role, of managing teams of lawyers, administration, costs schedules and budgeting, dealing with clients, and arguing cases. Of one thing I am now even more certain – communication is key.
I admire the commercial focus and corporate structure of law firms. There is clarity in terms of hierarchy, reporting lines, and shared values. A lawyer will prosper if they fit with the ethos, stay within the operating parameters, and meet the objectives of strategic plans and business goals. There is a strong sense of brand and belonging and being a team player is essential, at least until you make partner!
However, it also gave me first-hand, personal experience of the pressures on solicitors and this is invaluable from a client relationship perspective now that I am back at the Bar. If you can stand in your client solicitor’s shoes and see life through their eyes, you are more likely to understand what made them choose you as counsel and to empathetically work in a way that makes them feel in control and more likely to work with you again.
The pressures on barristers are very different because we are in independent practice and have a greater degree of control over working hours, the type of work we do and with whom we work. However, independence can also have its downside.
What I look to achieve at Monckton, for my own practice and for those I work with, is to bring some of the aspects of an effective law firm into play. In particular, I would like to encourage my colleagues to recognise, although independent, we can and should work together for our own mutual benefit and those of clients and their funders.