On becoming sole senior clerk at Essex Court Chambers I reflected that as the Bar, and indeed the world, has modernised, so too has the role of the barrister’s clerk. What a complete transition it has been – from chambers comprising 15 barristers to sets now in the hundreds; low key business development has evolved into targeted global marketing initiatives and I am proud to have been at the spearhead of this progression.
I am passionate about the wellbeing and support of barristers and staff that work alongside me and, in an effort to increase client care and at the same time improve the clerks’ wellbeing, I implemented a significant restructuring project at Essex Court. This transition resulted in the clerks’ room growing from three clerking teams to four; and facilitated five internal and two external promotions. The result has been simply fantastic, with an immediate increase in productivity and huge appreciation from my team for the reduced, and flexible, working hours that I have put in place. I very much hope that these types of initiatives will be embraced by every set as an aid to improving work-life balance.
One of the great strengths of the Bar, and by extension, its clerks, is its adaptability. As clerks, we are proud of what we do and see ourselves as a stand-alone profession with a unique skillset. The development of those expansive skills guarantees sufficient intellectual stimulation to ensure a completely fulfilling career. At Essex Court we recognised that our clerks’ room is a reflection of chambers and to reinforce our ‘magic circle’ status have always been rigorous in identifying the highest calibre of candidate for any vacant position.
Graduates or school leavers?
Historically, clerks started their career when they left school at 16 and more often than not were drawn to the profession by family members and friends who were already in chambers. This is changing rapidly and now graduates are seeing clerking as a very attractive career path. When I first started to recruit graduates, one of the initial obstacles was ensuring they did not see clerking as a stepping stone to a career as a lawyer. I am pleased to report that as the role has progressed we face this issue less, especially as many colleges and universities are now promoting the profession as an alternative to becoming a lawyer. I am proud of the fact that a third of my clerks hold good degrees and, more importantly, that their degree is an asset to the room.
When writing this article, I discussed with several of my graduate clerks what they feel the benefit of having a degree is in our industry. The strong consensus is that a degree provides vital experience in working to deadlines, organisation, diary management, effective communication, content drafting, professionalism, interpersonal skills, juggling workloads, and has given them a work ethic standing them in good stead for a career within the clerks’ room.
That is not to say that I do not still appreciate the grit and endeavour of a young adult, fresh out of school, who is looking to make a mark on the world. The school leavers in my clerks’ room have been able to grow within the role and tailor their skills effectively to the specific requirements and attributes of a clerk, and the benefits of being able to mould their skills from the outset to suit chambers is very beneficial. Also speaking to them, they feel it is advantageous that from early on in their career they have not had a structured routine and understood the importance of flexibility and that no two days are the same, they have a drive to challenge themselves and expand their knowledge whilst on the job. I have also found that graduates who see clerking as a long-term role very much respect the abilities of traditional clerks and are keen to learn from those who came through the ranks.
Progression and responsibility
As I touched on earlier, the requirements of a clerk’s role have increased and the skillset required has expanded to include complex fee negotiation (often now with the clients, funders and other professional bodies), business development and compliance with ever-increasing regulation. The evolving legal landscape of people with different and sometimes competing interests – barristers, solicitors and support staff – means that a modern and forward-reaching clerks’ room is a must if you are to provide a seamless and client-friendly service.
Career progression is changing and where traditionally clerking roles began with several years of manual labour as a ‘junior clerk’ before opportunity was given to perform the wider functions of a ‘desk clerk’, we, as a profession through the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks, and internally here at Essex Court, are providing more and better training than ever before. We think the increased focus on training will enable junior clerks to progress up the ladder quicker, creating a fast-track to desk clerking.
During my restructure I was able to promote two graduates to the senior team from the junior clerks’ team, with less than 16 and 22 months in the job respectively. This was on the basis that more intensive internal and external training was available in their respective new roles, and their status as graduates meant we could rely on them already having the ability to withstand the intellectual rigours of clerking the complex practices of barristers. Traditionally we would have not considered such a promotion until completion of three years as a junior clerk.
I am not advocating that a modern clerks’ room should be made up entirely of grads: far from it. Simply that a modern clerks’ room must be diverse and armed with a full set of skills to better equip us in serving our clients and members in the ever-changing, ever-challenging landscape that is the modern Bar. We reflect and enhance the flexibility, responsiveness and creativity that is the strength of any successful chambers. Relationships with individual barristers and clients forged over an entire career should never be underestimated, no matter what your level of education.
Retaining talent
For those entering the profession now, it is also a much more attractive career choice for women. While discussing the recruitment of graduates generally, one thing the clerking profession can congratulate itself on is the rapid change to the gender demographic in our clerks’ rooms. However, it is important not to get complacent and at Essex Court, we have tried hard to look at the way we work to encourage the retention of our staff.
Solicitors firms have been way ahead of the Bar in terms of female- (and family-) friendly policies; but at Essex Court, we have not just looked at how we can encourage the recruitment and retention of female barristers, we have looked at how we can do the same for female clerks. We have put in place enhanced maternity policies and more flexible working practices, which we hope will reassure our female clerks that should they chose to combine a clerking career with raising a family, the level of practical support we can provide, both whilst on maternity leave and upon their return to chambers, should allow the right balance to be struck. I cannot speak for wider statistics in clerking, but in my clerks’ room we have a 60/40 split of men to women.
Market-leading clerks need to have a hunger for success and an insatiable appetite to achieve. Graduate or non-graduate starter clerks know that if they work hard, it will pay off and with the new makeup in our modern day clerks’ rooms this profession has a very exciting future ahead!