Latest trends in chambers....

There seems to be a number of Senior Clerk posts available at the moment, and few (very) Junior Clerk positions in chambers. Strange. Must be the time of year - people not looking to move chambers until after their salary review or bonus!
There also seems to be a general trend for chambers in London to be specialising in many one area of work only, while chambers in the provinces are still multi-discipline sets (common law - Crime, Civil and Family).
There is still a lot of unhappiness in Crime sets about the pressure the government and the authorities are placing on the Criminal Bar in particular.
Some sets of chambers have recently dissolved (not necessarily due to the Criminal Fees though) - latest to go: 199 Strand, 10-11 Gray's Inn Square, and 7 New Square.

Mike Dean (Fenners Chambers) holding forth in Manchester at the IBC Conference, March 2006

 

Declan Redmond, Chairman of the IBC, adjusting his tie! 

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Finding happiness

Chambers People is a company that provides help to staff that employed in barristers' chambers, and will try to ensure that everyone is in a job that they enjoy, being paid the salary that they deserve. Some staff are unhappy - the people that they work for are unfair, the barristers can be harsh and demanding, and the staff have to accept what is chucked at them (sometimes literally!). This is because (and many barristers will recognise this) that barristers are often wrapped up in the legal work that they do and not see sometimes what is going on around them.
We try to act independentally, and as fairly as a good barristers' clerk should always be - to help the member of staff acheive success.