Name: Ben Elliott Chambers: Pump Court Tax Chambers Location: London University: St John’s College, University of Oxford Degree: History
and arguments. Equally clients seek practical answers to their tax problems so an adviser has to be able to come up with solutions that are not only legally correct but are also commercial.” For those whose interest has been piqued, Ben sums up the appeal of this diverse area: “Overall, the Tax Bar is the place for those who like challenging and varied legal and The rangeof legal issues that arise in taxcases isdemonstrated by the fact thatmanyof the leading cases inother areasof laware actually taxcases factual problems. This area is very rewarding, both intellectually and financially, and is far more accessible than most applicants think. If you are attracted by diverse and challenging legal problems, a mixed litigation and advisory practice, and having the opportunity as a junior to conduct your own cases while also working with some of the best minds in the legal profession, you should seriously consider applying to the Tax Bar.”
What does it take to be a tax barrister? You certainly don’t need a background in tax to secure pupillage at a tax chambers. “Most junior members of our chambers had no experience at all of tax law before they started their pupillage and had only done a law undergraduate degree or GDL,” says Ben. “Among juniors at Pump Court, the split between law graduates and those who converted via the GDL is roughly 50-50 – and unlike in some other chambers, it is rare for pupils to have done a postgraduate degree or PhD in law. Tax legislation is too broad and varied for anyone to know anything but a fraction of it, so the most important skill of a junior tax barrister is to be able to get on top of new areas of law and legislation very quickly. Personally, I find being asked to advise or litigate an area that you have no experience of – or indeed which may never have been considered by the courts in detail before – to be one of the most satisfying parts of the job.” You also do not need to be good at maths to succeed in this area of law. “Our cases are generally determined on points of principle – ‘all or nothing’ issues’,” he explains. “For example, ‘if the correct statutory construction is A then this income/receipt is taxable,’ or ‘if B falls within this statutory description then it is exempt from tax’. There is rarely a dispute about the amount that is due once the points of principle have been determined – and even when they do arise, they are generally matters for the accountants to resolve.” Ben emphasises that there are no special qualifications needed to be a tax barrister. “Like any other barrister, a tax practitioner has to be bright, hard-working, practical and able to absorb and analyse considerable volumes of information very quickly”, he explains “What perhaps sets the Tax Bar apart is that you also have to be very creative – many of your cases will involve litigating on issues and legislation that have never been before a court before, so you have to be able to form your own views
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