Introduction
The Talent Retention Working Group (TRWG) was set up by Middle Temple’s Membership Committee in 2019. Its purpose is to support and promote the interests of members either returning to practice following an absence for a variety of reasons (a ‘returner’), ranging from maternity, paternity, and caring leave to pursuing other ventures, as well as those who are moving practice areas or between chambers and the employed Bar (a ‘mover’). TRWG supports all barristers, men and women, employed and self-employed.
The Inn recognised that greater support was needed for this cohort of members who are navigating a changing landscape, and who could experience problems such as:
- Learning new areas of substantive law
- Understanding how expectations and working cultures differ across the various Bars – criminal/employed/family/commercial etc.
- Getting back up to date with changes in the law and practice
- Loss of professional and personal networks and not having a pool of portable clients to offer any new potential set or employer
- Personal branding and loss of confidence while at the same time needing to project confidence to potential employers and clients
- Lack of understanding of what is wanted by chambers or employers when recruiting
- Managing professional relationships both in chambers and in house
- Support needed in pitching applications, drafting business plans and CVs, interview skills and practice
- Financial difficulties – for example balancing the costs of childcare against chambers’ rent structures/contributions or potential salaries, or the need to work part-time but without any chambers’ flexibility in rent/contributions
- Time constraints (if caring responsibilities persist)
- Difficulty competing with new starters at the Bar – highly competitive and malleable young barristers, with recent training in the skills and substantive law required by the job and a willingness to work all hours because of fewer family, financial or other responsibilities
By supporting this cohort of members, the Inn aims to (i) promote the cognitive diversity that such candidates offer where different backgrounds, approaches, skills and experience enrich the offering of an employer or chambers, and (ii) ensure diversity, equality and inclusion in the profession. The increasing financial pressures on criminal and family practitioners result in high attrition rates for the Bar. We also know from statistics from the Bar Standards Board that women leave the profession in higher numbers than their white male counterparts, particularly around the 10-year level, and that those from ethnic minority backgrounds find it harder to establish their practice and have more periods away from practice. This is a serious problem.
The TRWG has found that whilst corporate and public sector bodies are supportive and encouraging of recruitment from returners or movers and recognise the diversity they offer, many sets of chambers are further behind in their appreciation and understanding of these barristers.
TRWG
In order to capture a broad spectrum of experience and expertise members of the TRWG include employed and self-employed barristers, the Inn’s Directors of Education and Membership, returners, movers, a Senior Clerk, a Lord Justice of Appeal, a representative of the Bar Council and a member of the Circuits.
The aim is to provide guides, information, workshops, seminars and social events on a range of issues and topics that can support returners and movers.
Four Years On and Beyond
This year has proved to be a watershed year for the TRWG. With the support of the Bar Council we are now at the very early stages of working with them and the other Inns to facilitate an offering across all the Inns. By working together, we will be able to share our experience and expertise and provide universal support Bar wide.
Initiatives to Date
To date, we have launched a variety of initiatives, some of which are detailed below.
Coach/Coachee Scheme
We have created a panel of experienced practitioners who serve as coaches to returners or movers and have direct experience of the issues. Once paired, the coachee has an opportunity to discuss issues and concerns in a confidential space.
Tips for Returners and Movers
In order to provide an information port for returners and movers, we have published detailed tips for returners and movers on the Inns website. This is an updated portal which provides information on a variety of topics and links, including:
- Securing tenancy/jobhunting
- Practice development
- Confidence building
- Keeping up to date with substantive & procedural law
- Pastoral & wellbeing
Workshops & Seminars
These events include:
- A CV workshop which provided expertise from chambers and a recruitment consultant on CVs, presentation and expectations etc. for all our stakeholders (employed and self-employed Bar, returner or mover) coupled with a CV writing workshop
- Advocacy workshops with breakout rooms for training and exercises
- A confidence building seminar entitled ‘The Confidence Trick – How to Play, How to Win’
- An event exploring and sharing experiences about returning to work and moving from self-employed to the employed Bar and vice versa, and how clerks can assist returning or new members, entitled ‘Shared Experiences and Lessons of Reinvention and Evolution’
- A series of events based on effective communication (see below)
Best Practice Guide
In order to assist chambers in their appreciation and understanding of the cognitive diversity and other benefits that returners and movers can offer them, we have put together a best practice guide.
The purpose of the guide is to set out a best practice guidance for chambers, which it is hoped they will take note of and perhaps even adopt. The guide is available on the Inn’s website.
Communication Series of Events
Effective and constructive communication in the workplace is the foundation for good teamwork, professional growth and an inclusive culture. It applies across the board to the employed and self-employed Bars, at all stages of our careers and is essential to retention, inclusion and diversity.
Recognising the importance of effective communication, the TRWG, supported by the Survive & Thrive Steering Group, has devised a series of events. This series is led by Dr Anna Colton – a chartered clinical psychologist and executive coach, and moderated by Lady Justice Whipple and includes demonstrations of best practice through role play scenarios.
In October last year, we hosted our first event. This explored setting boundaries, giving feedback and building professional relationships within the framework of the silk/junior relationship, with feedback given as a junior upstream, and as a silk downstream.
On Tuesday 4 June this year, we hosted our second event, focused on effective and constructive communication within the framework of the clerk/barrister relationship, which was also supported by the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks.
Both events have been very successful and there is plainly a need for events targeted at effective and constructive communication.
We are currently planning our next event in the series, which we hope to offer in the first half of next year.
New & Upcoming Events
The following events are planned for later this year, and we are currently planning events for next year, so please look out for them (please note this is not an exhaustive list):
- Wednesday 18 September: An online workshop examining how to balance the challenges, the doubts, the instinct to over-prepare and the fears that we face in our competitive environments. This event will explore our thought and behavioural patterns surrounding our work and our abilities, look to developing better work habits, and increase our resilience to stress. The event will be led by clinical psychologist and former researcher in neurosciences, Dr Desiree Dickerson.
- Wednesday 9 October: This is a joint event supported by the Employed Bar Society which will examine career opportunities for movers and returners at the employed Bar.
Talk to Us!
The impediments faced by movers and returners and their link to the lack of retention at the Bar is a Bar-wide issue that needs to be acknowledged and addressed. This year, we showcased our work in Counsel magazine to raise awareness.
Please visit the Inn’s website at https://www.middletemple.org.uk/members/inn-initiatives-and-events/talent-retention-scheme to take a look at our scheme and practice guide and feel free to contact [email protected] for further information on our initiative.
We are guided by the members we aim to support. If you have any ideas for events or issues that you consider the TRWG should be looking at, please let us know.
Master Juliette Levy specialises in commercial, chancery and telecommunications law. She has been involved in a wide variety of commercial disputes, often of a multi-million pound and multi-jurisdictional nature and with a foreign law element. She was Chair of the Hall Committee before becoming Chair of the Talent Retention Steering Group following her Call to the Bench.
