Becoming a new tenant – how to find your feet fast

After years of education, training and completing pupillage, you have arrived at your destination: tenancy. First and foremost, I express my sincerest congratulations. It is a long and often challenging process – and you have made it. The day my co-pupil and I were offered tenancy is, without a doubt, one which will stay with me for the rest of my life.

But elation often turns into blind panic when it dawns on soon-to-be tenants that they are only a few months from being self-employed and without supervision. In this article, I hope to give you a head start – to flag the things that really helped me find my feet fast, or that I wish I had known.

Of course, experiences will differ greatly depending upon your practice area. By tenancy, criminal pupils will likely have been on their feet for six months, and commercial/Chancery pupils perhaps not at all. There is then a large spectrum of pupils falling in between. My experience as a property specialist falls squarely between those two ends, having had a balanced diet of supervisor work and my own hearings in second six.

Make the most of your support networks

You must remember that you are constantly surrounded by support. Your ex-supervisors, chambers roommate(s), former co-pupil(s), friends at other sets, mentors, pupillage committee – and generally other members of chambers. Within our individual practice areas, we are all fighting the same battles. The benefit of turning to others is that they might have dealt with what you are facing several times before and know exactly what you should do.

Always take up any opportunity to have a mentor, whether internal to chambers or external. As regards external mentoring, you can turn to your practice area’s Bar association: e.g., the Chancery Bar Association Mentoring Scheme and the COMBAR Mentoring Scheme.

It may be that you face an unexpected (or expected) ethical dilemma. To the rescue is the Bar Council’s confidential ethical enquiries helpline (020 7611 1307) and email service. They can give a helpful steer in a moment of uncertainty.

Financially disciplined? Get organised

If you’re quaking in your boots at the thought of organising your finances:

1. Get an accountant. I do not know anybody at the Bar who does not have one – if that person exists, I bow to you in awe (or perhaps worry). They will deal with, at least, your income tax and National Insurance (i.e., your self-assessment tax returns). They may also deal with your VAT. I would ask other members of chambers who they use, as they may have some horror stories to tell.
2. Make your life easier. Keep track of all your business expenditure. At the end of the year (or sooner for VAT), you will have to list those expenses for your accountant, so it is worth being organised from the outset. I store all information relating to purchases in an email folder in Outlook.
3. Keep pots. One of the perils of self-employment is a lack of fixed income. We accrue aged debt and are paid when we are paid. So, it is worth estimating how much tax you will have to pay and setting aside a percentage of your income to cover it. You will then not be tempted to treat it as your income. And do not forget that we have no pension at the self-employed Bar. Many contribute to a pension early to be as tax efficient as possible.

All things court!

1. Make a CourtServe account. It publishes all County Court, Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court and Employment Tribunal cause lists at about 4pm the day before your hearing. For those whose practice will comprise many a possession hearing, you will then inevitably find out that you are bulk-listed and placed 20th on the list for 2pm.
2. Download your Pkpass to bypass security. When you log into your MyBar account, you should see an option in the left panel called ‘HMCTS professional users’ court and tribunal access scheme’. Once you sign up for that scheme, you will receive a pass which is saved to your Apple/Android wallet. When you next attend court, show security your pass and they will ask you to press a button. If the hand-held device flashes ‘Pass’, you can sail through security without a care in the world. If it flashes ‘Stop’, you will face the usual security checks. I have been stopped only once or twice since October of last year.
3. Always arrive at least 30 minutes before your hearing. The general rule is to catch the train before the train you should catch. You can always do work in the waiting area; though, prepare yourself for the facilities (or lack thereof).
4. If your train is delayed and you may miss a hearing (or indeed if anything else goes wrong), call your clerks! County Court Hearing Centres no longer have individual phone numbers. All calls are redirected to a central call centre in Northampton (I believe) and you will be waiting in the queue for hours. That does not mean your clerks cannot help: they often work miracles. If all else fails, it might be worth leaving the train and calling a taxi; but do not alight until you know that you can definitely catch one from your location.
5. When you arrive at court, head to your allocated waiting area. There will likely be an ushers’ desk, where you will need to sign in. They will ask who you represent, for your name, and to confirm your role (counsel). The usher will be able to tell you if your client or opponent has arrived.
6. Confidence. It is very easy to become overwhelmed. There will be a lot of ‘firsts’. But you are there to do a job and you would not be there if your previous supervisors (who signed off on your practising certificate) did not think you were ready. In moments of self-doubt, some recommend finding the nearest toilets and adopting the power pose; I waltz around acting like nothing could faze me. You will find your thing.
7. Making mistakes is part and parcel of being human. Barristers are no different. When it inevitably happens, do not panic – nor be ashamed. Speak to your previous supervisors or current mentors about next steps. There are very few things which cannot be resolved.

Health and wellbeing

Last, but by no means least, no job is worth your health (mental or physical). A career at the Bar is demanding and its pressures are usually amplified by our own high expectations. Being stressed is not weakness.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, Wellbeing at the Bar runs the Assistance Programme (provided by Health Assured). It offers a confidential helpline (0800 169 2040) where you can discuss emotional and practical problems. Another option is LawCare (0800 279 6888), which is a mental health charity specifically for lawyers. Both can also be reached by email.

If there is one thing you take from this article, please let it be that the Bar is a close-knit profession and you are not alone.