Lessons learnt: Starting afresh

Starting afresh is a humbling experience, as I said in a video I shared on my Instagram account last year. I stand by this comment, having recently transferred to the Bar following 15 years of practise as a solicitor. While I brought with me many years of legal acumen and client handling skills, I needed to adapt to the expectations and culture of the Bar. This called for patience, accepting that with learning comes growth and understanding that my skills had not all of a sudden become redundant but rather, they would be applied in a different way.

As a solicitor, I had become accustomed to supporting clients throughout their cases, from first meeting through to final correspondence. I would quickly become a confidante, a long-term support who was available, whenever needed, to answer any client queries – be they legal questions or a second opinion to reassure and guide. As a barrister, most often I am not the first (or last) port of call – advising on the merits of bringing proceedings, when proceedings are issued, on settlement options or complex/novel points of law. This took some adjustment.

Working at the Bar is more intellectually intense, and can be all-consuming but equally exhilarating. I have had to become accustomed to working very late on occasions, drafting urgent documents and the expectation that you know your case, irrespective of when instructions were received.

I found the Bar to be very formal and heavy on traditions. Out went the colourful outfits to court/office which were my signature look and in came more restrained colour palettes of black, white, navy and grey.

Self-employment and working from chambers without a team was another big change. I have had to become comfortable with uncertainty in respect of my income, thick-skinned (as criticism comes with the job on occasions) and exercise great self-discipline as I am essentially my own manager.

Navigating the Bar Standards Board ethics exam was also particularly challenging. Not because of a lack of familiarity with ethical decision-making, but because the precise application of the Bar’s Code of Conduct demanded a different lens, a reframed mindset. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Code of Conduct is principles-based and outcomes-focused. Advocacy runs through the Code as a central theme, reflecting that this is one of many roles solicitors perform. The BSB Handbook, in contrast, places paramount importance on the core duties of an advocate and their role in the administration of justice with very detailed and prescriptive rules (for example Code of Conduct rc3-rc9). Other key differences, of course, include the Cab Rank Rule of which there is no equivalent in the SRA Code.

Ongoing learning keeps you on your toes. It becomes your survival kit. It’s often said that the legal profession is one of lifelong development. Titles and experience matter, of course, but they do not exempt us from the need to challenge ourselves, to keep learning, and sometimes to start again. As Brian Herbert said, ‘The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.’ I made the choice to challenge myself and to get uncomfortable to become comfortable. It was not an easy choice to make. I could have remained in my role as a partner, comfortable with my income and the knowledge that I had acquired. But where does the growth come from? I yearned to learn more because we can never stop learning for our own development. I also did not want to have any regrets in not pursuing a lifelong dream. At the Bar, no two days are the same. I learn something new every day and encounter issues I have never come across before. I have the scope to learn from other advocates and to hone my skills. Because the law is ever‑evolving, we too must remain committed to continual growth.

So I have come full circle – not to escape my experience, but to build on it in a new setting. Now, practising at the Bar after successfully completing pupillage (and the ethics exam) and becoming Chambers 100th current member, I feel a renewed sense of purpose. My years as a solicitor inform my work daily, particularly in family law, where empathy, strategy and communication are as vital as black-letter law. My experience brings with it a different kind of professional intelligence. I appreciate the pressures on the solicitors who instruct us, I fully understand the client/solicitor dynamic and the legal vision a solicitor must have throughout the trajectory of a case, as opposed to dealing solely with a hearing.

Family law is not an abstract area of law, it is lived. The cases I deal with sit at the intersection of many issues including power imbalance (domestic abuse), emotional distress for all involved, financial insecurity and much more. It is important we understand clients’ fears and worries, the threat to their homes, children, finances or identity. This should inform how we frame and deliver our advice, the arguments and strategy. Reassurance is often needed before advice can be properly received. We need to find appropriate solutions for families which will aid them in moving forward, beyond the doors of the courtroom.

Every hearing, no matter how short, can have a long-lasting impact on clients. Having previously managed cases from initial instructions through to final resolution, I am alive to the fact that these cases are not about winning or losing and to what is important to clients in such emotionally charged situations. I always strive to approach my advocacy with compassion. It is important to keep in mind the human element of our work which we can do without compromising the quality of advocacy and our independence.

I am a big advocate of mentoring at all stages of one’s career – not just at a junior level. My transfer to the Bar was made that bit easier by the support of my many mentors for which I am very grateful. They have been there to hold my hand throughout this process, champion my growth and offer sage advice and guidance amid the sea of change. Recognising that we do not know it all nor have all the answers is an important element of growth. Being able to tap into the knowledge of those who have gone before us deepens our learning and accelerates our development.