Name: Andrew Scott Chambers: Blackstone Chambers Location: London University: University of Oxford Degree: Law
a criminal or family barrister would achieve that nowwithout some alternative form of income, at least in the early years of your practice. The crisis in that area of the Bar is systemic because it impacts on howwe deliver justice.” Meanwhile, “in the corner of the Bar where I practise, the challenges are very different,” he continues. “Our issues arise from the need to retain London’s status as an attractive centre for international dispute resolution. That is critical because, as I have said, most of the commercial work that we see nowadays is international, and that work provides revenue for solicitors, barristers and a whole host of other industries which spin out of litigation. London is not the only place where this kind of work is done – there are centres around the world, such as in Singapore or the Middle East, that are competing for it. We practitioners must try to ensure that London remains an attractive place for people to come and have their disputes resolved.” Finally, Andrew offers his advice on the four essential skills and attributes that you will need to succeed at the Bar: “The first you could describe as ‘shot selection’. Clients take for granted that you will be on top of the law and the facts of the case – what they are really looking for is to take all that material and extract the critical points that are going to win the case, whether they are points of law or factual detail. The next two are more obvious – hard work and endurance are essential, and it is important to put in the hours necessary to crunch through the material. You also need to be willing to work in teams with solicitors – the reality is that the vast majority of litigation is working in small groups within a much larger team.” It is certainly instructive that even among self-employed barristers, the nature of a career in the legal profession is highly collaborative.
“It is ultimately the reason that we do this,” he enthuses. “Whether it is written or in court, all of our work as barristers is done with the intent to persuade someone – be that a client, a judge or even someone on your own team.” Rivalling advocacy in its appeal is the sheer unpredictability from one moment to the next. “That is what made me want to stop being an academic and come to the Bar in the first place. It isn’t part of a barrister’s job to look for problems – they come to us.” There is another side to an unpredictable workload, though, and giving up any semblance of control over his time during certain periods can be a source of frustration: “If you are working on a case and some important development happens that needs to be addressed urgently, it just has to be done. For example, during the preparation for an injunction there is often no time for anything beyond the work it requires. And particularly in the very early stages of my career, I was surprised by the unpredictability of the working pattern. During that first couple of years when you are trying to build your practice and make contacts, you have very little control over your diary. The cost of being self-employed is that there are times when you must be fully focused on the job.” Public funding crisis Turning his thoughts to issues facing the wider barristers’ profession, Andrew highlights different areas of concern that “very much depend on the area of the Bar that you are targeting for your career. There is a public funding crisis at the Bar which primarily affects practitioners in criminal and family law, but I think it is also beginning to affect the courts, because the consequence of having inadequate representation due a lack of funding to provide barristers is that judges have to take on more work, which puts added pressure on the system. It may sound dramatic, but I’m not sure how someone who wants to be
409 BARRISTERS
Sign up to
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online