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How to enhance the returner experience? With women’s career progression varying widely across chambers, and parental leave still a key point of attrition, don’t miss Nikki Alderson’s guide for chambers
Twice as many women as men applied to study law at university in 2022, demographics which are directly impacting Bar recruitment. In the 2024/25 Pupillage Gateway, 57% of applicants were female.
Yet we know from the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB’s) long-term study into retention, from July 2021, that women continue to leave the Bar in greater numbers than men, and are younger when they do. In addition, as Emma Price and Emma-Louise Fenelon, authors of Baby at the Bar, highlighted in their recent Counsel magazine article (‘Baby at the Bar – turning the tables’, July 2026):
Talent attrition for those returning from parental leave is particularly prevalent in this profession, according to the Western Circuit Women’s Forum 2018 Back to the Bar survey. It can be driven by tension between the traditional, rigid approach around work allocation, what happens to someone’s profile when they are perceived to be ‘out of sight’ (even if only temporarily), and whether decisions are made consistently or through informal, ad hoc arrangements.
While the Bar Council sets out a model parental leave policy, as now required by the BSB in every chambers, this is a minimum expected standard. All chambers have opportunity to add further detail. For example, being specific about financial and non-financial support.
Alongside Emma Price, I recently attended the ‘Female Talent at the Bar’ panel event run by the Legal Practice Management Association (LPMA). At the invitation of Richard Khaldi, Co-Chair of LPMA and CEO at St John’s Chambers in Bristol, I spoke about some of the issues surrounding new parent support. Richard was particularly keen to spotlight some of these challenges, having redrafted his chambers’ parental leave policy earlier this year.
That session also included discussions around best practice for chambers’ policies, financial barriers, training for staff and clerks, and promoting a culture of change.
Most chambers offer a rent-free period during parental leave. On the face of it, this sounds both useful and attractive, but the reality can be anything but.
Other than where chambers have a flat-rate rent scheme, a rent-free period does not offer respite from the financial realities of being out of work as a self-employed person during parental leave. The likely reduction in earnings means many returners would not be paying rent in any event, zero being due on zero.
Being creative, then, about meaningful financial support is the harder question to address. The financial difficulties faced by barristers on, and returning from, parental leave become even more acute when childcare costs are factored in, compounded by the likely change in working arrangements (including flexible work requests, phased return, perhaps even part-time work) and the lag in receipts once work resumes.
Rebates and rent-free periods, together with clear guidance around the chasing of aged debt, should be considered and written into policies. This means decisions remain defensible, as they are made with transparency and equal treatment in mind.
Richard recommends interrogating chambers’ practice management software to understand how much your members are benefiting from your existing policy and the financial realities of returning to practice. By way of example, he analysed the differences between members’ earnings pre- and post-parental leave to inform considerations about the financial support proposals in St John’s new policy.
Any business case for introducing additional financial support to members of chambers should also consider the cost of doing nothing, i.e. the cost of members earning less because they are struggling to adjust, the cost of failing to recruit junior talent because of a perceived lack of support, as well as the cost of losing members full stop.
Beyond financial support, chambers can also put in place structures and procedures that clerks and staff can provide to members to support them. This means chambers ensure the logistical ‘cost’ of staying never becomes a reason to leave.
Best practice means that everyone – staff and members of chambers – are fully conversant around the parental leave policy and understand what needs to be done to properly implement it.
Think what good might look like, then work out ways to achieve it, through policy reviews and the implementation of ‘gold standard’ practices.
For example, consider breastfeeding support provisions, and how to achieve positive lines of communication, and flexibility, at all points, while also acknowledging that the latter two must be specifically considered at each of five pivotal points:
Where chambers provide touch points at every stage, including regular practice development reviews (PDRs), this ensures breaks are handled through strategic planning as opposed to knee-jerk reactions at one single point of issue. To further aid best practice in those PDRs, checklists of considerations at each stage can prove useful.
At a Lincoln’s Inn panel event last year, ‘The Balancing Act: Returning to work with caring responsibilities’ it was obvious that certain chambers were getting things right, while others were falling very far short (see recording). Even with the model Bar Council policy in existence and it being easy to find what good looks like, some chambers simply do not act upon it. This can lead to a world of difference between what is set out in a policy and what happens in reality.
Training and coaching also have an important role to play in stemming the tide of talent attrition and retaining parental leave returners, while also positively influencing chambers culture.
Embracing training to standardise the clerking experience for returners ensures fairness to all. If clerks listen, returners are heard; open and honest lines of communication are promoted and maintained; and chambers offers consistency while remaining flexible.
Each returner (and return) is different, with their own unique set of circumstances.
Just as coordination and uniformity within the clerks’ room is vital, so too is it with returners. Chambers benefit from including them in coaching and training, to ensure everyone is fully informed about available rights, opportunities and support.
Adopting a coaching culture is not only supportive, but also encourages people to talk about, and find solutions for, challenges. For returners, that might mean fair opportunity to deal with issues, for example, around confidence and the ‘juggle’.
Returners, feeling valued and heard, and empowered to advance their careers as they wish, with support and mutual understanding, are more likely to remain loyal to chambers, stay, and indeed attract others. Chambers’ recruitment and reputation will, consequently, improve.
Start by checking what policy is in place and whether it is fit for purpose. Where not, conduct a review, then propose and implement amendments.
Once implemented, don’t rest on the collective chambers’ laurels. Conduct regular reviews to ensure the policy continues to work effectively in practice. Essential always to walk the talk on these things!
Finally, consider how training and coaching could enhance the returner experience to better support chambers’ future success.
What will be your next move as a chambers to address talent attrition and achieve both retention and progression for your returners?
Parents at the Bar will soon have access to an additional support structure in the form of a ‘Baby at the Bar’ parenting network, due to launch in early 2027. Following on from the book’s success, the aim of the network will be to facilitate mutual support and connections between barrister parents, at whatever stage of the parenting journey they are. Those interested to learn more can sign up for information and updates using the contact form on babyatthebar.co.uk.
Nikki Alderson is a former criminal barrister. She is now a specialist coach supporting chambers and law firms to attract, retain and elevate female talent within the legal profession and empowering female lawyers to achieve career ambitions. Nikki’s Retention & Rising coaching framework has seen more than 170 women retained in law over the last nine years and a 92% returner retention rate at law firm Clarion. She also runs Clerking Through Career Breaks, an online course for practice managers and clerks looking to enhance existing support for returners. Find out more at nikkialdersoncoaching.com
Twice as many women as men applied to study law at university in 2022, demographics which are directly impacting Bar recruitment. In the 2024/25 Pupillage Gateway, 57% of applicants were female.
Yet we know from the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB’s) long-term study into retention, from July 2021, that women continue to leave the Bar in greater numbers than men, and are younger when they do. In addition, as Emma Price and Emma-Louise Fenelon, authors of Baby at the Bar, highlighted in their recent Counsel magazine article (‘Baby at the Bar – turning the tables’, July 2026):
Talent attrition for those returning from parental leave is particularly prevalent in this profession, according to the Western Circuit Women’s Forum 2018 Back to the Bar survey. It can be driven by tension between the traditional, rigid approach around work allocation, what happens to someone’s profile when they are perceived to be ‘out of sight’ (even if only temporarily), and whether decisions are made consistently or through informal, ad hoc arrangements.
While the Bar Council sets out a model parental leave policy, as now required by the BSB in every chambers, this is a minimum expected standard. All chambers have opportunity to add further detail. For example, being specific about financial and non-financial support.
Alongside Emma Price, I recently attended the ‘Female Talent at the Bar’ panel event run by the Legal Practice Management Association (LPMA). At the invitation of Richard Khaldi, Co-Chair of LPMA and CEO at St John’s Chambers in Bristol, I spoke about some of the issues surrounding new parent support. Richard was particularly keen to spotlight some of these challenges, having redrafted his chambers’ parental leave policy earlier this year.
That session also included discussions around best practice for chambers’ policies, financial barriers, training for staff and clerks, and promoting a culture of change.
Most chambers offer a rent-free period during parental leave. On the face of it, this sounds both useful and attractive, but the reality can be anything but.
Other than where chambers have a flat-rate rent scheme, a rent-free period does not offer respite from the financial realities of being out of work as a self-employed person during parental leave. The likely reduction in earnings means many returners would not be paying rent in any event, zero being due on zero.
Being creative, then, about meaningful financial support is the harder question to address. The financial difficulties faced by barristers on, and returning from, parental leave become even more acute when childcare costs are factored in, compounded by the likely change in working arrangements (including flexible work requests, phased return, perhaps even part-time work) and the lag in receipts once work resumes.
Rebates and rent-free periods, together with clear guidance around the chasing of aged debt, should be considered and written into policies. This means decisions remain defensible, as they are made with transparency and equal treatment in mind.
Richard recommends interrogating chambers’ practice management software to understand how much your members are benefiting from your existing policy and the financial realities of returning to practice. By way of example, he analysed the differences between members’ earnings pre- and post-parental leave to inform considerations about the financial support proposals in St John’s new policy.
Any business case for introducing additional financial support to members of chambers should also consider the cost of doing nothing, i.e. the cost of members earning less because they are struggling to adjust, the cost of failing to recruit junior talent because of a perceived lack of support, as well as the cost of losing members full stop.
Beyond financial support, chambers can also put in place structures and procedures that clerks and staff can provide to members to support them. This means chambers ensure the logistical ‘cost’ of staying never becomes a reason to leave.
Best practice means that everyone – staff and members of chambers – are fully conversant around the parental leave policy and understand what needs to be done to properly implement it.
Think what good might look like, then work out ways to achieve it, through policy reviews and the implementation of ‘gold standard’ practices.
For example, consider breastfeeding support provisions, and how to achieve positive lines of communication, and flexibility, at all points, while also acknowledging that the latter two must be specifically considered at each of five pivotal points:
Where chambers provide touch points at every stage, including regular practice development reviews (PDRs), this ensures breaks are handled through strategic planning as opposed to knee-jerk reactions at one single point of issue. To further aid best practice in those PDRs, checklists of considerations at each stage can prove useful.
At a Lincoln’s Inn panel event last year, ‘The Balancing Act: Returning to work with caring responsibilities’ it was obvious that certain chambers were getting things right, while others were falling very far short (see recording). Even with the model Bar Council policy in existence and it being easy to find what good looks like, some chambers simply do not act upon it. This can lead to a world of difference between what is set out in a policy and what happens in reality.
Training and coaching also have an important role to play in stemming the tide of talent attrition and retaining parental leave returners, while also positively influencing chambers culture.
Embracing training to standardise the clerking experience for returners ensures fairness to all. If clerks listen, returners are heard; open and honest lines of communication are promoted and maintained; and chambers offers consistency while remaining flexible.
Each returner (and return) is different, with their own unique set of circumstances.
Just as coordination and uniformity within the clerks’ room is vital, so too is it with returners. Chambers benefit from including them in coaching and training, to ensure everyone is fully informed about available rights, opportunities and support.
Adopting a coaching culture is not only supportive, but also encourages people to talk about, and find solutions for, challenges. For returners, that might mean fair opportunity to deal with issues, for example, around confidence and the ‘juggle’.
Returners, feeling valued and heard, and empowered to advance their careers as they wish, with support and mutual understanding, are more likely to remain loyal to chambers, stay, and indeed attract others. Chambers’ recruitment and reputation will, consequently, improve.
Start by checking what policy is in place and whether it is fit for purpose. Where not, conduct a review, then propose and implement amendments.
Once implemented, don’t rest on the collective chambers’ laurels. Conduct regular reviews to ensure the policy continues to work effectively in practice. Essential always to walk the talk on these things!
Finally, consider how training and coaching could enhance the returner experience to better support chambers’ future success.
What will be your next move as a chambers to address talent attrition and achieve both retention and progression for your returners?
Parents at the Bar will soon have access to an additional support structure in the form of a ‘Baby at the Bar’ parenting network, due to launch in early 2027. Following on from the book’s success, the aim of the network will be to facilitate mutual support and connections between barrister parents, at whatever stage of the parenting journey they are. Those interested to learn more can sign up for information and updates using the contact form on babyatthebar.co.uk.
How to enhance the returner experience? With women’s career progression varying widely across chambers, and parental leave still a key point of attrition, don’t miss Nikki Alderson’s guide for chambers
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