In November 2025, the South Eastern Circuit launched its new mentoring scheme, uniquely offering opportunities for not only cross-chambers but cross-specialism and cross-disciplinary mentoring. The purpose of the scheme is to offer guidance and assistance in relation to matters of practice development and direction, as opposed to day-to-day legal, ethical or practical problems that can be adequately addressed through other channels.

In relation to those at an early stage in their career, the scheme recognises that the increase in remote working has made our robing rooms quieter, reducing their access to ad hoc advice and support from more senior practitioners, especially those from other chambers. Access to such assistance is absolutely vital in the, fortunately unusual, situation where any member is experiencing difficulties within their own chambers. It can also be useful to have an independent, experienced sounding-board when making decisions about career progression, including the development of any specialist area of practice.

While the opportunity to be mentored is limited to juniors, who are members of the South Eastern Circuit, the scheme has no upper call-limit, recognising the ongoing need for advice and support as an individual’s career progresses. The scheme aims to assist those facing the challenge of returning to the Bar, after a period of parental leave or other absence and those attempting to juggle a busy practice with familial or other caring responsibilities. A wide pool of senior practitioners, with personal experience of such issues is available, due to our cross-chambers, cross-specialism and cross-disciplinary approach. The scheme is also intended to provide assistance to barristers who face less obvious but, nevertheless, significant issues, such as a feeling that their practice is stagnating, or a wish to completely overhaul and change the direction of their work. We recognise that individuals in these situations will find it easier to confide in someone outside their own chambers, especially if their feelings of dissatisfaction or desire for change imply a criticism of their own chambers or might necessitate moving to another set.

The South Eastern Circuit has advertised the scheme widely through the Leader’s Mailings and advertisements through specialist Bar associations. Senior junior, silk and judicial members of the Circuit have responded with their typical generosity of spirit. In addition to the mentor/ mentee pairings we have made to date, we have a significant number of other volunteer mentors ready and willing to provide assistance (although, of course we would always welcome more). We also actively encourage anyone experiencing any of the difficulties or concerns mentioned within this article or any other major issues in relation to their practice to put themselves forward as a potential mentee. Our independence of mind is one of our greatest strengths as barristers, but it can make us slow to seek help, even when we need it.

All of the successful mentee/mentor pairings, set out in the box, were made possible by the cross-chambers, cross-specialism, cross-practice area nature of the scheme. We always endeavour to match a mentee’s needs as closely as possible with the experience and skills of the volunteer mentors available to us. On occasion we have approached specialist Bar associations, in order to identify an appropriate mentor, with experience in a niche area of practice, and we are very grateful for their responses and for their support of this scheme.

Get involved

If you are interested in being mentored or volunteering to become a mentor, please do contact us at mentoring@southeastcircuit.org.uk, providing us with sufficient information to assist us making a successful mentee/mentor pairing. Please include, as a bare minimum, your chambers, your year of call and your general practice area. Mentors, please include any particular areas of specialism or expertise in your current work, as well as details of your general experience of mentoring or addressing the challenges of life at the Bar. Mentees, please include details of any particular issues or concerns, with which you would like assistance and/or the nature of any career development that you are interested in pursuing. Please, do not be shy! We look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Examples of successful mentee/mentor pairings
  • Establishing a junior practice: Someone at an early stage in their career, who, after a successful tenancy application, was anxious about the demands and expectations of junior practice. We were able to identify a mentor of 5-10 years’ call, from their practice area, with relevant, relatively recent, experience of the issues faced by their mentee.
  • Developing a new mid-career specialism: A barrister of over 10 years’ call, who having generalised within their area of practice, had identified a particular area of interest in which they wished to specialise. We were able to allocate a mentor to them, who was already thriving in the desired specialism and who was, therefore, well-placed to advise upon focused career-development.
  • Returning from parental leave: A relatively junior member of the Bar, returning to work after a period of parental leave, who was worried about juggling their responsibilities as a new parent with the unpredictable demands of junior practice. A mentor, in their practice area, with experience of managing and balancing such personal and professional concerns was identified and allocated to them.
  • Adapting to a new jurisdiction: An individual, with experience of practice in another jurisdiction, had only recently been called to the Bar of England and Wales and achieved tenancy. They were concerned to understand and to adjust to the different practices and customs associated with courts in this country. We were able to identify a well-established silk, in the same practice area, who also had experience of working in the mentee’s country of origin. This mentor was ideally placed to identify and advise upon the differences between the respective regimes.
  • Returning to chambers from the employed Bar: A practitioner of a number of years’ call who, after an initial period of tenancy, within a London chambers, had taken an employed legal position with a company in another jurisdiction. Upon their return to a chambers in London, they were keen to receive non-specialism specific mentoring, as they readjusted to self-employed practice. We were able to pair them with a retired member of the judiciary with significant previous mentoring experience, who was well-placed to provide advice upon life and practice within a large busy set of chambers and upon career progression more generally.
  • Returning to the Bar and a new practice area: An experienced practitioner, who was not only returning to the Bar after a long period of absence, but also entirely changing their area of practice. We were able to find them a mentor of a suitable seniority, in their new area of practice, to assist their development in a manner that took appropriate account of their considerable transferable skills.