Bar Council: World Mental Health Day 2018 2018 was going to be an exciting year for me. I resolved to start the new year, a new me. Along with the new me, I started my new job at the Bar Council with a spiffing new project, Wellbeing at the Bar. I felt like the luckiest […]
I need help
Barristers inherently face very specific challenges on a daily basis. If you need some help click on support to find contact details and advice on seeking support.
The professional lives of clerks and chambers’ staff include many potential stressors. If you don’t know how to broach an issue, want advice on your options.
These resources have been designed specifically for those who have completed their BPTC and for pupils up to tenancy.
Resources
Guidance on how to introduce wellbeing policies and initiatives and on tackling a wellbeing issue in chambers.
Examples of successful wellbeing initiatives adopted by chambers, Specialist Bar Associations and the Inns of Court.
Support
Who to talk to, how to get help in coping with the pressures and demands of life at the Bar.
Who to talk to and how to get help, resources are for clerks and staff themselves.
Support for students and pupils
Who to talk to and how to get help for those who have completed their BPTC and for pupils up to tenancy.
The confidential 24/7 helpline with access to counselling for barristers, pupils, clerks and chambers’ staff.
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News
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Nicholas Hill
Learning to be your best self at work and at home When considering what to cover in this blog I cast my mind back to my previous piece, published in June last year. In some ways, not so long ago. In others, however, that seems quite some time past, particularly when considering what has been […]
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Valerie Charbit
The Bar and the Bench: Supporting One Another Wellbeing is a work in progress for all of us, one which we should be required to consider daily, like a mantra in order to achieve regular improvements. Another way we can seek to change or improve our wellbeing is by attending events which provide us with […]
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Elisabeth Cooper
Wellbeing in the North I am approaching 10 years call next month, and have noted during my own time at the Bar those exceptionally talented members we have sadly lost from the profession due to serious emotional health and stress-related issues. Positively, however, in that decade and more recently, I have observed a significant shift […]
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Sarah Vine
The Counter-Intuitive Solution Barristers hate not working. We complain incessantly about how much work we have to do, but there is no more accurate metric of a barrister’s self-worth (at least in professional terms) than how busy they are. Respond to this refrain by suggesting to a barrister that they need to take more time […]
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Rachel Crasnow KC
A new kind of first aid: mental health first aid Determined, energetic and purposeful high achievers can be the most vulnerable to mental health issues because they push themselves so hard. Barristers, who often work alone, often with long commutes to courts, their self-employed status removing them from any managerial oversight, are particularly susceptible to […]
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Helen Randall
Wellbeing from the start Speaking to mini-pupils and conducting interviews for pupillage recently, it has struck me how unwilling anyone wishing to join the profession is to acknowledge the need for a work/life balance. I entirely understand the dilemma, and am sure I was guilty of it too. They want to join a profession with […]
Wellbeing at the Bar Blog: Amanda Hardy KC
Chancery Bar Association From 2015 the Chancery Bar Association (ChBA) has been committed to initiatives to make all its members aware of the fundamental importance of wellbeing at work and, at the same time, provide information to ensure a healthy work/life balance for its members and their staff. The ChBA has over 1,300 members. There […]