GetBriefed Podcast Briefed

In today’s episode, Orlagh is joined by the Director-General of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), Mark Neale. 

With a wealth of experience in the public service sector, covering everything from tax to counter-terrorism, Mark has now entered what he calls his third career leading the BSB – the regulator of the Bar. 

Mark’s role as Director-General is to continually assess the landscape of the Bar and address its most pressing issues, from equality & diversity, to bullying and harassment, or furthering the development of the profession through new technology. 

As the regulator, Mark and his team strive to improve the profession and the lives of those who operate in it.  

This episode offers a great opportunity to hear from the regulator first-hand on a much more human level. 

In this episode, Orlagh asks Mark the tough questions, including:  

 


How is the Bar coping in a post-pandemic world?  




What do the BSB think are the most pressing issues facing the Bar?  




Mark’s perspective on the recent tensions between the BSB and Bar Council on EDI involvement  




What exactly do the BSB require from barristers?  




Is it possible that the profession could be overregulated in the near future?  




What does the newly formed Labour Government mean for the profession?

In this episode, Orlagh is joined by former Chambers Director and long-standing Senior Clerk, Martin Secrett. 

Martin began his career in the clerks' room when chambers was a different place. No technology was available and members relied solely on conversations with their clerks to manage their practice and acquire work for the coming days.

With modern advancements in technology now firmly integrated, the physical landscape of chambers has changed for good. However, the principle of clerking has not - its foundations remain built upon communication, strong relationships and goodwill. But does technology now outweigh this?

40 years after beginning, Martin reflects on a decorated clerking career, spanning across multiple chambers and roles from Senior Clerk at QEB Hollis Whiteman, to his final post as Chambers Director at 9BR Chambers where he now operates on a consultancy basis. 

Martin has learned from his experiences with the criminal justice system that it is suffering in several ways. As a result of consistent underfunding, retention struggles at the criminal bar, and disparities between courtrooms, the future of the system looks unstable, as it seems unable to cope with the increasing number of cases.

In this episode, Orlagh and Martin discuss:


The rudimentary practices of mid-80s Chambers
The Criminal Justice System's trials and tribulations 
His advice to those at beginning of their clerking journey

In this episode, Orlagh is joined by practising barrister at Francis Taylor Buildings and certified exec coach, James Pereira KC.  

James was called to the Bar in 1996 and incurred rapid success in his early career, where he won multiple awards and went on to take Silk at the young age of 42.  

It was then that James was exposed to many personal challenges that high performing professionals encounter, where he would eventually succumb to burn out – personified by a physical collapse in 2014.  

After availing of therapy and coaching to get himself back on the right track, he decided to train in these disciplines, enabling him to offer the services that had helped him so much in his recovery 

James was kind enough to speak at our Leadership and Wellbeing conference, where he looked at the life of high performing professionals in 3 key areas – technical skills, relationships and presence.  

Listen now as he dives further into some of these principles, discussing what happens when our lifelong values collide with concrete workplace cultures, what should motivate barristers to show up for their career, aside from money and the relationship between barristers, and the cases that connect them.  



You can find out more about James' Exec coaching here: The Libra Partnership

In this episode, Orlagh is joined by the Co-Founder and Business Development Director of The Barrister Group, Stephen Ward.

Stephen entered the chambers world in 1983 as a young junior clerk then labelled "The Boy" - his mission was to help chambers run as smooth as possible and effectively learn the trade that was clerking.

In the present day, Stephen is now an instrumental part of a team that has transformed the way that chambers operation is viewed. With the birth and success of The Barrister Group, Stephen and his colleagues have created one of the biggest and most accessible chambers in the UK.

Listen now as they discuss:


The true meaning of being a clerk
The birth of The Barrister Group (formerly Clerksoom)
Fusing the Chambers and Business models
Expanding pupillage opportunity

In this special edition of the GetBriefed Podcast, Orlagh sits down with Tim Hyman, the owner of the first official GDPR standard for the legal sector - LOCS:23.

Tim's LOCS:23 standard was approved by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) back in February and its pilot scheme has recently concluded, with the first legal supplier and barristers' chambers being certified in line with the standards requirements

Now, the application window for organisations interested in taking on LOCS:23 is open.

This episode is a great starting point for those in data protection and cybersecurity roles to begin to understand what LOCS:23 is and its purpose within the legal industry.

In this episode, Orlagh sits down with Sophie Stevens, a barrister at 9BR Chambers. 

Sophie has recently completed her third six at 9BR Chambers, where she has now taken up permanent tenancy.

She is also one of the co-founders of Neurodiversity in Law, an initiative dedicated to raising awareness, offering support, and reducing the stigma associated with neurodivergence in the legal profession.

In this episode, Orlagh and Sophie discuss:


Switching career paths from theatre to the Bar
Birthing Neurodiversity in Law from a tweet
How far can reasonable adjustments go?
The untapped potential of neurodivergent barristers