Caroline Waterworth has advised on complex commercial, property, governance and insolvency matters, led significant litigation and mediation projects, managed major organisational transformation programmes, and held responsibility for legal services at the highest strategic levels.
After more than a decade away from practise in the Inns of Court, my name went back on the chambers’ name board at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square on 1 June. It’s a moment that I didn’t think I would see, having had to walk away from the independent Bar in 2014 when life meant I had to find a different way to lawyer.
This article shares my top tips for returning after a long spell away.
The first time my name went on the board, I was approaching 30 years of age and had two rug rats in tow and a husband who was already a barrister. I entered the profession the hard way having previously been a city trained solicitor. Pupillage and parenting two toddlers was quite the experience. By 2012, my practice was doing quite nicely and we had a rhythm. Then life happened. My barrister husband suffered a catastrophic brain injury. This article isn’t about that experience, but it formed the back drop to my decision to move to an employed legal position – there was already so much uncertainty that the precarious nature of the self-employed Bar was one thing too many.
I flexed. I initially went to an in-house litigation role at Nokia. I now know far too much about networks, wifi, upload and download packets, the installation of networks and contracting with providers. My time at Nokia exposed me to business creativity. As a litigator, I had only ever seen things that were broken – directors who had traded whilst insolvent, tenants who hadn’t vacated, companies that had defaulted on their loans… the list went on. I flexed again to explore business. I obtained my MBA and learnt about management, technology, operating models. I also researched the reasons why the number of senior women in the legal profession hadn’t shifted since I joined the legal profession.
Following my MBA, the public sector called. A period in local government which coincided with the pandemic (first as Head of Legal Services, then as Commercial Director), local government transformation with KPMG, then Head of Legal Services at a large university followed.
My children grew up. My circumstances changed. The itch to be an advocate never went away.
But how do you come back?
My experience may be unique, but there are some steps I would recommend for anyone else who has had to step away from this part of the legal profession and is thinking about a return.
- Read the material on the Bar Council website for Movers and returners. Whilst the material may not be entirely relevant to someone who has been away for a number of years, it gives a good overview and may give you the push you need to take the first step.
- Sign up for the training and mentoring that the Movers and returners literature recommends. Not all of the training I did was directly relevant to securing tenancy but it all helped. It reminded me of the Bar vocabulary and the generosity of experts giving their time to other members of the Bar. Inner Temple have good resources including videos from a recent conference and run a 'Communication Skills for Barrister in the Workplace' which is aimed at those looking to rebuild their confidence on returning to the Bar after time away. It’s good networking too and may give you the introduction you need.
- Do your homework. Don’t be fixed on returning to the version of yourself that you were before. For me, I have all of the experience I had from my first time around, but importantly, I now have a wealth of additional experience that needed to be incorporated. If you aren’t sure where to start, I would recommend reaching out to contacts, however old, because I can almost guarantee that some of them will get back to you. And also, to get the ball rolling, sharing your ambition and vision for your future practice with AI is time saving and will give you an initial list to review and research independently. Work out your personal red lines and what you don’t want.
- If you want a contentious practice, sign up for Advocate (once you have checked your practising certificate status). This will give you the experience and exposure that you may need for written submissions to support applications as well as valuable advocacy and client experience. You don’t need to be with a chambers to take on work.
- Be bold. Send that enquiry email. Make that phone call to the senior clerk. Yes, you will get some rejections. Factor that in to your planning and your approach. Be disappointed but not deflated or put off. Have an appropriate timeline in mind to pursue your return. If you are in full-time paid employment, or part-time employment and part-time unpaid (ie parenting or caring) or juggling a lot of moving parts, expect things to take a while to gather momentum. I would suggest 6 to 12 months is realistic but this can be tweaked based on your availability.
I chose a set that matched my experience but importantly was inclusive, with barristers from a range of backgrounds (in-house, solicitors and those that had a little more outside experience). And that is reflected in the clerks room at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square under the expert stewardship of the senior clerk Emily Martin.
On a final point, I have been pleasantly surprised by how things have moved on in the last 12 years in terms of access and equality. The current Chair of the Bar Council has been true to her word with support for those thinking of leaving and returning – thank you Kirsty. But if you want to know which chambers have a more antiquated approach to returners, I might share that information if you ask me in person.