I secured pupillage and tenancy in a mixed common law set, which allowed me to gain experience in a variety of areas, namely family, immigration, Court of Protection and public inquiries. In my early years of practice, I became increasingly drawn to children law and Court of Protection work, so it was a natural next step to look to join a specialist family law set.

My advice to anyone scoping out new chambers is to consider the opponents you have been against in court. Do they impress you? Do they have the skills and expertise that you would want to learn, as well as associate with, by virtue of being in the same set? What are they like out of court? For me, it is important to belong to a set where the environment is truly collegiate, friendly and supportive. I gauged this from pre-hearing discussions at court with opponents and attending events where I would speak to members. I also had informal conversations with barristers from chambers of interest. From this research I felt 4PB would be a good fit for me.

Another motivation was to have a greater opportunity to be instructed on complex cases in emerging areas and on issues of public importance. I have already been led on such cases, and am expanding my network of instructing solicitors, thereby elevating my practice further.

Another priority was to move to a set that would support me in building a practice focused on my interests. My experience working in other areas has been hugely helpful in family and Court of Protection cases which overlap. I have particular specialisms in honour-based abuse, namely female genital mutilation and forced marriage, as well as working with deaf clients and I am in the process of undertaking BSL qualifications. The clerking team have indeed diligently kept these in mind when allocating work and used their network to further my work in these areas, and more widely.

Moving chambers can feel daunting. However, it need not be. As with any move, do as much due diligence as possible, both formal and informal, to understand which chambers will be the best fit for you – and you for them. Moving chambers is an opportunity to grow your practice further, learning from and working with new colleagues in an environment which suits you and your priorities.