We can very easily find ourselves living in a cage. Literally if our lifestyle traps us for hours inside or metaphorically if we contain our minds, ambitions, sense of worth. Other people can contain us in such ways too, but they can also set us free. I frequently drove past an animal shelter when visiting my […]
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
How Mindfulness Can Help You Manage Conflict in the Workplace
Conflict in the workplace is on the rise and the Bar is no exception. With diaries to manage, difficult colleagues to navigate and competition as fierce as ever, stress levels within the profession remains high. So what can be done to de-escalate conflict and reduce stress? An increasing number of chambers are looking to mindfulness […]
Bar students and pupils – are they snowflakes?
Let’s just take a minute to think about Greta Thunberg. She is the 16-year-old Swede who posted a picture of herself sitting outside Sweden’s parliament building, with a handmade cardboard sign which read, “Skolstrejk för klimatet”. As a result of her dogged determination, there was a climate strike of global proportions on Friday 20th September. […]
Starting small: taking little Wellbeing steps
Addressing “Wellbeing at the Bar” has become a widely known and talked about concept. Largely in response to the work that The Bar Council has undertaken (not least of all the construction of a Wellbeing website), our chambers decided that a wellbeing “policy” was required. But how do we codify wellbeing? Or a commitment to […]
The Times They Are a-Changin’?
Real talk. It jolted me when one of my children asked, “What is most important; sleep, work or playtime?” I had to ask myself whether this was a hint that I was neglecting those close to me? That I had succumbed to the insidious grasp of the demands of life at the Bar? Those pressures […]
(Re) Finding My Voice (and Relearning how to Communicate)
What would be your deepest fear? Of being alone? Of not being loved? Lack of recognition? This year something happened to me that gave me insight into my worst fear – not being able to communicate. After feeling unwell for a while last year I had a blood test that showed that one of the […]
Wellbeing and the Family Justice System by Sir Andrew McFarlane (President of the Family Division)
This weekend I have read two Tweets, each describing what their respective writers, both senior members of the Family Bar, consider to be oppressive and unreasonable judicial behaviour. It is very much a sign of the times (a) that such incidents are occurring and causing sufficient exasperation to lead to publication on Twitter and (b) […]
Josephine Davies on Working hours at the Bar
Recently, I caught up with a friend from university. In the 20 years since we met, he’s pursued a career as an academic scientist. I have become a commercial barrister. Over coffee, my friend was surprised that I was planning on doing a few hours work later that day (a Sunday). He asked when things […]