Should I stay or should I go?

A decision to leave Chambers isn’t taken lightly. But it doesn’t need to be tortuous.  Here are some ideas to inform your decision.  

There’s more than one option

Years before the existence of social media, a friend sent me an email from a colleague who had made an important career decision.

“After much soul-searching, I have made the very difficult decision not to leave McKinsey. The decision hasn’t been easy. But I feel that this is the right thing for me and my family.”

It was so funny because the option to stay and make things better is one which few of his peer group were considering.

Here are three scenarios to consider as you weigh up your options. 

Scenario 1: Chambers doesn’t market your practice

A proportion of your Chambers fees is allocated to marketing . But your Chambers marketing team is responsible for marketing Chambers, not your individual practice.

If your specialism falls outside the marketing remit of your Chambers team, you may be paying for a service you don’t need. Moving to a Chambers whose marketing efforts are oriented towards your practice area could be an option.

However, if you’re happy in Chambers, but not getting the marketing support you need, there are other options. You can learn to market your practice yourself or outsource the task to someone else.

If you can command a higher hourly rate than a marketing analyst, it could make sense to pay someone else to help you. 

Scenario 2: There are too many juniors at your level in the same practice area

If there’s a bottleneck of juniors at your level in your current Chambers, you’ll face internal and external competition for premium instructions. Moving to a Chambers where your experience can slot into a gap in the hierarchy could certainly help.

However, if you’d rather stay where you are, review the market then carve out a niche to differentiate your practice from other juniors working at your level.

Building a niche and positioning yourself as an expert is something you can do from any Chambers.

Scenario 3: You’re open to learning new skills 

The barrister skillset is changing.  Those who have adopted an entrepreneurial approach and use technology efficiently are no longer reliant on their Chambers to generate all their instructions.

If you’re happy in Chambers and you’re open to learning new skills to help you raise your profile, delay your decision to move while you test them out.   

Leaving the nest 

I once worked with a QC who spent nine months agonising over whether to move to a new set of Chambers on the other side of the courtyard.

To the objective outsider, moving his practice across the road was the obvious choice.  However, no amount of logical reasoning could persuade him to take action, either way.

Eventually, we got to the heart of the matter.

“I’m going to miss my mates” he said, mournfully.  

It’s not about the building

From my conversations with barristers who are considering a move, it seems that the decision is as emotional as it is commercial.

The reality is that you can now build and grow a practice from anywhere, including your kitchen.  You just have to be willing to put in the legwork to start operating in a new way. 

If you’d like to stay put, decide to commit to Chambers and make it work.  You’ll find resources here on Jurilogical.com to help you take a step forward. 

If after some deliberation you decide to leave your present Chambers, you’ll need a Business Plan to support your move.   

Start today with our Business Plan for Barristers.    

By Heidi Smith
Creator of Jurilogical.com

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