*/
The Bar Council has launched a maternity mentoring scheme to help barristers return to work after having children.
Barristers who are about to start a family will be paired up with a ‘more experienced parent who has been through the whole process and has returned to a flourishing career’ to get advice, guidance and information.
The scheme, which will be available to all parents and carers irrespective of gender, will initially be piloted for one year.
Bar Chairman, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, said: ‘The self-employed nature of much of our profession makes it harder to take time out and return to work after becoming a parent.
‘Equally, many employed barristers will look to their representative body, the Bar Council, for support. Parenthood should not mean an end to a flourishing career at the Bar.’
One anonymous barrister commented: ‘Women at the Bar need this support at a time when they are torn between their career and having a baby. They need to know that they are not alone, that they can maintain a career and a family if that is what they want and that the world will not end if a child develops chicken pox on the morning of an important hearing.’
She added: ‘I found the experience of having children cut me off from the Bar and returning after having a baby made me anxious and stressed.’
For more information about the programme, e-mail Mentoring@BarCouncil.org.uk.
The Bar Council has launched a maternity mentoring scheme to help barristers return to work after having children.
Barristers who are about to start a family will be paired up with a ‘more experienced parent who has been through the whole process and has returned to a flourishing career’ to get advice, guidance and information.
The scheme, which will be available to all parents and carers irrespective of gender, will initially be piloted for one year.
Bar Chairman, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, said: ‘The self-employed nature of much of our profession makes it harder to take time out and return to work after becoming a parent.
‘Equally, many employed barristers will look to their representative body, the Bar Council, for support. Parenthood should not mean an end to a flourishing career at the Bar.’
One anonymous barrister commented: ‘Women at the Bar need this support at a time when they are torn between their career and having a baby. They need to know that they are not alone, that they can maintain a career and a family if that is what they want and that the world will not end if a child develops chicken pox on the morning of an important hearing.’
She added: ‘I found the experience of having children cut me off from the Bar and returning after having a baby made me anxious and stressed.’
For more information about the programme, e-mail Mentoring@BarCouncil.org.uk.
Justice system requires urgent attention and next steps on the Harman Review
Q&A with Tim Lynch of Jordan Lynch Private Finance
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Why Virtual Assistants Can Meet the Legal Profession’s Exacting Standards
Six months of court observation at the Old Bailey: APPEAL’s Dr Nisha Waller and Tehreem Sultan report their findings on prosecution practices under joint enterprise
The Amazonian artist’s first international solo exhibition is wholly relevant to current issues in social and environmental justice, says Stephen Cragg KC
Despite its prevalence, autism spectrum disorder remains poorly understood in the criminal justice system. Does Alex Henry’s joint enterprise conviction expose the need to audit prisons? asks Dr Felicity Gerry KC
Until reforms are instituted and a programme of training is introduced, expert opinion on intimate partner abuse remains vital to realigning the tilted scales of law and justice, writes Professor Susan Edwards
It’s been five years since the groundbreaking QC competition in which six Black women barristers, including the 2025 Chair of the Bar, took silk. Yet today, the number of Black KCs remains ‘critically low’. Desirée Artesi talks to Baroness Scotland KC, Allison Munroe KC and Melanie Simpson KC about the critical success factors, barriers and ideas for embedding change
