The Bar
Melia Benn is one of only two practising Indigenous women barristers at the Queensland Bar. She was called to the Bar in 2018, and has a dual practice in both Endeavour Chambers, Cairns and Griffith Chambers, Brisbane. The Legal 500’s Head of Inclusion, Equality, and Culture, Fiona Fleming, spoke with Melia about her pathway into law, the obstacles she’s faced as an Indigenous woman, and what the Australian legal industry can do to improve Indigenous representation
FF: Tell me a little about what it was like for you growing up in Far North Queensland, and what it was that made you want to be a lawyer? I grew up in a place called Gordonvale and there are parts of when I think about growing up in Far North Queensland that can …
Continue reading “Fighting for the next generation of indigenous talent”
The Bar
Mary Dobson, former joint COO and head of fundraising and comms at Advocate, the Bar’s national pro bono charity, says those providing free legal advice should be more vocal about what they are doing
It is a truth universally acknowledged that all barristers do pro bono. Or is it? Despite the wide variety of interesting and deserving cases, the opportunity for practice development and the fact that, unlike when doing paid work, a barrister gets to choose which cases they take on, the number of barristers undertaking work through …
Continue reading “Making pro bono transparent”
The Bar
Keith Plowman, senior clerk at Ten Old Square Chambers, discusses the modern barristers’ clerk’s role in promoting good mental health in chambers
Modern barristers’ clerks are not a ‘new breed’ but the evolutionary result of the shifting forum in which they operate. Their history may hark back to harsher and more subservient times, but their current expertise is recognised by successful sets of chambers who require effective management of individual barristers’ practices and chambers’ business. The poet, …
Continue reading “Protecting your assets”
The Bar...
5SAH Chambers’ Louisa Collins details her life as a specialist extradition barrister, juggling family commitments with exciting, challenging, and emotive cases
Usually a ‘day in the life story’ starts with the morning, but for this job it usually commences the evening before, readying myself for the following day. The adrenaline of being in court brings with it a rush of activity close to the hearing date. I tend to prepare for examining witnesses the day before …
Continue reading “A day in the life…”
The Bar
John van der Luit-Drummond provides an overview of the latest Bar rankings, some general submission feedback, and news on what’s to come in our next research round
Congratulations to every barrister and chambers that appears in The Legal 500’s 2020 UK Bar rankings. The latest rankings are a culmination of all your hard work and expertise as well as the painstaking research carried out by our dedicated and talented research team. This latest guide is our most expansive yet. The 2020 guide …
Continue reading “All you need to know about the UK Bar 2020”
The Bar
Littleton Chambers’ Charlene Ashiru opens up about the challenges of taking a break from practice for parental leave, and provides practical advice on how to prepare yourself both practically and psychologically
Parenting and practice are not mutually exclusive. The thought may seem daunting at first, not least because you may have spent a number of years building your practice and professional network only to go and take an extended period of leave; but the prospect should be seen by you and all of those around you …
Continue reading “From Bar to baby, and back again: Balancing practice with parenthood”
The Bar
From the importance of gender diversity and social mobility to support for pro bono work, Essex Court Chambers’
Richard Hoyle explains how the millennial mindset is
changing the commercial Bar
‘Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t …
Continue reading “A generation that thinks differently”
The Bar
UK Bar editor John van der Luit-Drummond talks to five sets about their various CSR initiatives – what works, why they do it, and the challenges they face
Chambers’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives cover a number of different areas, including access to the profession and equality and diversity, as well as initiatives focusing on staff health, environmental sustainability, ethical business practices, and charitable causes. A successful CSR programme can have far-reaching effects, not only for the reputation of a chambers, but also …
Continue reading “Chambers’ social responsibility”
The Bar
Georgina MacLellan, business development manager at 4 New Square, discusses her chambers’ recently launched podcast and looking beyond the traditional marketing tool-box
Chambers has recently launched the ‘Analysis: Commercial Dispute Resolution and life at the Bar’ podcast. How did the idea of this podcast come about? There are two arms to our podcast – recent developments in commercial law and life at the Bar. The idea was initially born out of a desire to reach our international …
Continue reading “Entrepreneurial marketing”
The Bar
Old Square Chambers’ Robin Moira White looks back at her journey to coming out as transgender and offers advice to other lawyers fearful of being their true selves
Anyone who has taken a rollercoaster ride will know that gut-wrenching moment as you go over the first drop and your internal organs become weightless. It’s the closest way I can describe that feeling in the summer of 2011 when I went up chambers’ front steps for the first time as my true, female self. …
Continue reading “Being trans in law”
