What does the future hold for the Young Bar? A Family Law perspective

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Young Bar Committee The YBC Calendar Message from the Chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee

The YBC Calendar

Message from the Chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee

Young Bar Toolkit Building and managing a practice for the self-employed Bar How to conduct yourself as a pupil Applications for tenancy Specialisation Maintaining relationships with more senior members of chambers Timetabling holidays Working with your clerks Relationships with solicitors Marketing your practice CPD: How best to choose your points Childcare and other personal commitments The first years of practice – regulatory requirements The Bar Council, the BSB Handbook and professional guidance Keeping a record of your work Volunteering Handling complaints made against you Financial affairs, accounting and tax for the self-employed Bar Income expectations at the Bar Chambers financial administration: what do or should your clerks do for you? Terms of payment How long do you have to wait? Outstanding fees: fee chasing and collection Study loans and pupillage awards Financial institutions used to dealing with barristers Overdrafts, practice loans, mortgages and credit Accountancy services Pensions and pension options VAT Record keeping: regulatory requirements and HMRC Tax and national insurance Professional insurance: The BMIF and regulatory requirements BARCO Sole practitioners ABSs and entitites: Dual-practice – employment as a consultant State benefits and tax credits for the self-employed Illness/critical illness insurance The employed Bar What is an employed barrister? Building and managing a practice at the employed Bar Where you can find support when things go wrong Regulatory issues Financial affairs, accounting and tax for the employed Bar Wellbeing and work/life balance Wellbeing at the Bar Stress The science Mental health: key facts Protect yourself Get help Special help for those with caring responsibilities Talking to your clerks about work life balance Handling Nerves at Court Monitoring Mentoring Dealing with criticism Equality and diversity Useful organisations at the Bar Pupillage and how to get it

Building and managing a practice for the self-employed Bar How to conduct yourself as a pupil Applications for tenancy Specialisation Maintaining relationships with more senior members of chambers Timetabling holidays Working with your clerks Relationships with solicitors Marketing your practice CPD: How best to choose your points Childcare and other personal commitments The first years of practice – regulatory requirements The Bar Council, the BSB Handbook and professional guidance Keeping a record of your work Volunteering Handling complaints made against you

How to conduct yourself as a pupil

Applications for tenancy

Specialisation

Maintaining relationships with more senior members of chambers

Timetabling holidays

Working with your clerks

Relationships with solicitors

Marketing your practice

CPD: How best to choose your points

Childcare and other personal commitments

The first years of practice – regulatory requirements

The Bar Council, the BSB Handbook and professional guidance

Keeping a record of your work

Volunteering

Handling complaints made against you

Financial affairs, accounting and tax for the self-employed Bar Income expectations at the Bar Chambers financial administration: what do or should your clerks do for you? Terms of payment How long do you have to wait? Outstanding fees: fee chasing and collection Study loans and pupillage awards Financial institutions used to dealing with barristers Overdrafts, practice loans, mortgages and credit Accountancy services Pensions and pension options VAT Record keeping: regulatory requirements and HMRC Tax and national insurance Professional insurance: The BMIF and regulatory requirements BARCO Sole practitioners ABSs and entitites: Dual-practice – employment as a consultant State benefits and tax credits for the self-employed Illness/critical illness insurance

Income expectations at the Bar

Chambers financial administration: what do or should your clerks do for you?

Terms of payment

How long do you have to wait?

Outstanding fees: fee chasing and collection

Study loans and pupillage awards

Financial institutions used to dealing with barristers

Overdrafts, practice loans, mortgages and credit

Accountancy services

Pensions and pension options

VAT

Record keeping: regulatory requirements and HMRC

Tax and national insurance

Professional insurance: The BMIF and regulatory requirements

BARCO

Sole practitioners

ABSs and entitites: Dual-practice – employment as a consultant

State benefits and tax credits for the self-employed

Illness/critical illness insurance

The employed Bar What is an employed barrister? Building and managing a practice at the employed Bar Where you can find support when things go wrong Regulatory issues Financial affairs, accounting and tax for the employed Bar

What is an employed barrister?

Building and managing a practice at the employed Bar

Where you can find support when things go wrong

Regulatory issues

Financial affairs, accounting and tax for the employed Bar

Wellbeing and work/life balance Wellbeing at the Bar Stress The science Mental health: key facts Protect yourself Get help Special help for those with caring responsibilities Talking to your clerks about work life balance Handling Nerves at Court Monitoring Mentoring Dealing with criticism Equality and diversity Useful organisations at the Bar

Wellbeing at the Bar

Stress

The science

Mental health: key facts

Protect yourself

Get help

Special help for those with caring responsibilities

Talking to your clerks about work life balance

Handling Nerves at Court

Monitoring

Mentoring

Dealing with criticism

Equality and diversity

Useful organisations at the Bar

Pupillage and how to get it

Events

Opportunities

BLOG What does the future hold for the Young Bar? A Family Law perspective Day in the Life of…Rupert Jones What is a ‘young barrister’? Young Barristers take the IBA Conference 2016 Pro Bono – The Business Case National Pro Bono Week Young Bar welcomes ‘Wellbeing at the Bar’ Chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee’s Address for the Young Bar Conference 2016 The Bar’s Eye on Brexit Day in the Life of…Katie Cromwell Day in the Life of…Michael Jones Chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee responds to the EU Referendum result Third Six Pupillage Day in the Life of…Onyeka Onyekwelu Day in the Life of…Diana Deju Day in the life of…Duncan McCombe The Changing Face of the Referral Bar Day in the Life of…Louisa Nye The Challenges facing the Junior Bar Bar careers are challenging, but there is support

What does the future hold for the Young Bar? A Family Law perspective

Day in the Life of…Rupert Jones

What is a ‘young barrister’?

Young Barristers take the IBA Conference 2016

Pro Bono – The Business Case

National Pro Bono Week

Young Bar welcomes ‘Wellbeing at the Bar’

Chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee’s Address for the Young Bar Conference 2016

The Bar’s Eye on Brexit

Day in the Life of…Katie Cromwell

Day in the Life of…Michael Jones

Chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee responds to the EU Referendum result

Third Six Pupillage

Day in the Life of…Onyeka Onyekwelu

Day in the Life of…Diana Deju

Day in the life of…Duncan McCombe

The Changing Face of the Referral Bar

Day in the Life of…Louisa Nye

The Challenges facing the Junior Bar

Bar careers are challenging, but there is support

Gallery

Sponsors

When I was looking for pupillage, which is longer ago than I care to think about (1983), I was repeatedly told by everyone in the profession that getting taken on in chambers and establishing a practice was extremely difficult . I can still remember thinking that quite a few people had achieved it, and why should it not be me? I also remember responding in an interview to the standard question as to why I wanted to become a barrister by saying, amongst other things that I thought that being a barrister would be fun. Lucky for me (because that would have been thought a frivolous answer by many an interviewer), that answer struck a chord with the panel.

Although the work we do can be very challenging, and at times extremely emotional if you are a family lawyer, some 33 years later I believe that my early sense that the Bar would be an enjoyable career, and where success was eminently achievable, was right. There is nothing like fighting a case on behalf of a client, and nothing like doing your very best to persuade a tribunal to make the decision for which you are advocating. In family law (and no doubt in other fields as well) there is also the greatest satisfaction in team work and negotiation.

One of the biggest difficulties faced by the would-be young barrister is financial. Although some scholarships are available from the Inns, it is likely that many a talented graduate is put off by the thought ever more debt. Although the profession is acutely aware of this, the engagement of the junior bar in helping to advise as to practical solutions is crucial for those who follow..

If the individual manages to surmount the difficulties – and is prepared to persist, I am convinced that the Bar remains a very worthwhile career. Of course it is not for everyone. There are some who will find that the unpredictability and lack of stability are too hard to manage, and will leave the Bar to become employed.

For those who wish to remain at the Bar and to concentrate on family law, there are significant challenges. Not least is the future of publicly funded work. During the course of my career I have seen a reduction in publicly funded fee levels, a raising of the threshold for obtaining public funded, and now the abolition of public funding in most private law family cases. No doubt there will be more cuts, more changes.

The answer to these challenges, in my view, is for the young barrister to make sure of striking a balance in the work that he or she does and to be alive to new areas of work that are developing. I suspect this is true in whatever specialism, but in family law, even if you have a desire to confine yourself to a particular field in the long run, there is a great deal to be said for being willing to do what you are given within the first few years of your practice (within reason of course). Even if you want to be a money practitioner, it will improve your advocacy skills to do public law work. If you enjoy public law work (and I speak as someone who very much does), you should do other things too. There is a huge amount of private law children litigation in the courts, for example. Although many litigants are driven to representing themselves there is a significant group who will wish to be represented as long as they can be reasonably certain of the cost. The junior bar will benefit from this, especially those qualified for public access. International work is a growing area (and Brexit is likely to add to this), and so is surrogacy. Many say that family lawyers should become more involved in Court of Protection cases. By doing a variety of work you will not only gain in skills and insight, but you will be better protected if a particular type of work disappears through a change in the law or the government removes certain work from the scope of public funding. Advocacy, negotiation and problem solving are desirable and adaptable skills.

Finally, be prepared to get things wrong and to make mistakes without feeling as if it is the end of the world. It is inevitable that some cases will go well and less not. It is part of a process of learning in a difficult job, and everyone does it. The important thing is to learn from it, and then to take that forward to the next case.

Frances Judd QC, Vice-Chairman of the Family Law Bar Association (FLBA) and a barrister at Harcourt Chambers.

Frances Judd QC is a barristers at Harcourt Chambers. She is Vice-Chairman of the Family Law Bar Association ( FLBA ) and is a Deputy in the High Court.

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