2010s

Georgina Gills – Senior Practice Manager, 5RB

Like most, I began my clerking career by somewhat of a fluke, not having a clue what Chambers was until I arrived in 2011.  I was given the opportunity to attend a work experience placement at Old Square Chambers where a relative was due to attend, but pulled out the night before. Studying the basics of law, I asked if I could go in their place and as they say, the rest is history!

When I joined Old Square, I was 1 of 2 junior clerks and spent my days busily running around Chambers, to various courts and immersing myself in the whirlwind of client events (when I could handle 3 late nights in a row).  Endless hours were spent sending paper copy fee notes, feeding the fax machine with authorities to the ECHR and running up and down the 5 floors, ensuring everyone had adequate supplies of coffee and paper.  Being the most junior member of the team and 1 of only 2 female clerks, I was often tasked with ad-hoc admin and marketing duties.  Over time, I was mentored by the team and was slowly trusted with more clerking responsibilities.  

Working with a team of predominantly male clerks, you would be forgiven for thinking that I felt rather out of place but in truth, I have never felt more comfortable or encouraged.  Old school clerking “banter” was abundant, complete with clerks’ dressing up box and pranks galore.  I can’t ever recall being offended or being treated differently by members.  Even when lines were perhaps crossed by those outside of Chambers, the team were fiercely protective and would step in when necessary.  I had previous experience of misogynistic behaviour but think that working in such an encouraging team at the outset of my career truly hammered home the fundamentals of what was and wasn’t acceptable in the workplace and in general. A lesson I will always be thankful for.

Despite loving my time at Old Square, after 3 years I felt it was time to develop my skills further, joining a small Chancery set as an Assistant Practice Manager.  Working within a smaller team and a vey different hierarchical set-up, I found myself being asked to act as a PA to the CEO rather than as a clerk, which was not something I felt was being asked of my male colleagues. Being the newest recruit and it being my first Assistant role, I didn’t necessarily feel comfortable setting hard boundaries.  I felt that being appointed to this role created a divide between the clerks and admin teams, putting me in somewhat of an uncomfortable position.  This was no doubt unintentional but nevertheless, was not something I wanted to continue with and was perhaps the only time I considered leaving clerking.  Not wishing to be defeated, I focused on the positive take-aways – those who supported me during that time and a strong view as to how I would clerk/mentor others, moving forward.

In 2015, it was suggested by a recruiter that I’d be an excellent fit for a small, but specialist set – 5RB.  When I joined, there was a female Senior Clerk, Kim Janes, who was in the process of retiring.  It was the first time I had worked alongside a female Senior Clerk and it was obvious that she had established a well-respected career over many decades.  Both Kim and the First Junior Clerk Jackie, only took 3 months maternity leave after having each of their children.  Something which simply wouldn’t happen now!  I joined laterally as an Assistant Practice Manager and was quickly exposed to the sparkle and intrigue of media cases, often covered heavily by the press. With it being an even smaller team, I had much more exposure to management of members’ practices and quickly found myself assisting the Deputy Senior Clerk, running with day-to-day management tasks.  After the Senior Clerk retired, I became the only female member of the clerking team. Over time, I became more confident with managing some of the most senior clients in the industry an grew my network of contacts.

On court runs in my junior days, I used to walk past Fountain Court and tell relatives “I’ll work there one day”. It became a reality!  In 2018, I joined Fountain Court, which had always been an ambition.  It would be easy to doubt yourself joining such a highly regarded team but if anything, it taught be just how capable I was.  I was fortunate enough to work alongside my co-author Katie Szewczyk, Paul Martenstyn and Alex Taylor amongst others, who pushed me to be the best I possibly could.  This was of course not without some insightful lessons but was truly a fantastic experience.  Being1 of 2 female Deputy Senior Clerks, Katie was often kept busy with high-level management which gave me the golden opportunity of taking the lead on day to day running of a team of Silks.  Working closely with Katie, the team ran sleekly and efficiently. Working within the magic-circle sphere was certainly fast paced and challenging, but I would say this is certainly where I honed my skills, as well as making friends across many Chambers, who I still plague with questions today.  

Being in a much bigger team, it was the first time I’d worked alongside multiple women in the Clerks’ room.  It was also great to see more female juniors and clerks coming up through the ranks. As Katie has previously mentioned, rigorous monitoring of fair allocation of work and blind recruitment was practiced, giving all fair opportunities.  Whilst this was done in my earlier sets, earlier versions of Lex certainly didn’t have capability of running in-depth reports, making it harder to monitor.

In 2020 the pandemic struck, changing the way we would clerk for the foreseeable.  We were split into bubbles and often didn’t see some of our colleagues for months at a time.  The end of crammed networking events, in person fixing appointments and working side-by-side in the busy clerks room.  It was strange going from being in every day to working at home or walking Fleet Street with absolutely nobody around.  Like a zombie apocalypse, something I hope to never see again!

After almost 3 years at Fountain Court, I was approached by 5RB to re-join and head up my own team.  Joining at the back end of the pandemic, I worked remotely for some time which was incredibly strange, particularly when starting a new role. Slowly but surely, restrictions were lifted and clerking life slowly returned to normal (the new normal). Sadly in person fixing is no longer an option, with everything done by email or Teams. It did however demonstrate that there could be some flexibility with WFH arrangements, which is a good thing for a lot of people.  

As Senior Practice Manager, I am now responsible for training and overseeing my own assistant, the junior members of the team as well as the strategic management and development of members’ practices.  Being the only female clerk in the team, I often find myself dealing with sensitive pastoral issues.  Which may not be so typical, I attend the majority of networking events.  I believe that the stereotype of “male clerk in the pub with clients” is becoming a thing of the past.  In such a small team, it would be hard to distinguish whether I am approached by members and clients solely for being female, as we often act of both sides of a case.  I would like to think that I’ve managed to build equally strong relationships as my male colleagues.  

I must point out that being a female clerk does not mean that my clients get disproportionate reductions on Brief fees! You may be surprised but this has been suggested historically in the industry…  Being in a minority, I have had to prove myself over the course of my career, building trust and relationships that fall outside of the stereotypical “boys club” clerking culture.  Being a female clerk is a true strength and I believe has had a positive impact on Chambers’ management and those I’ve mentored, using skills learnt over the years.  

From starting in 2011, there have been a number of notable differences in clerking and at the Bar including the increased opportunities given to junior members, decline in alcohol focused networking and substantive shift to remote communication amongst others. There has certainly been an uptake in female clerking but as previously highlighted, this has not yet filtered to the most senior levels.  As long as Chambers focus on retention of staff and fair allocation of work, I am certain this will change in years to come.  There still needs to be a lot of work done across the industry to secure and retain talent of not only females but widen diversity generally.  We must adapt to make Chambers as inclusive as possible, making allowances for personal commitments such as family care, mental welfare and wellbeing generally.  This not only applies to women but also men.  In recent years, there has been an increase in people taking career breaks or extended leave, which can be caused by burn out.  Perhaps this wouldn’t happen as much if balance could be found.

As females take up more senior roles in various chambers, it is imperative that they are taken seriously at management level.  Genders should be seen as equals and just as clerks are expected to allocate work fairly, the same should be expected in clerking recruitment and allocation of tasks. 5RB has 2 female Heads of Chambers, which I think is a fantastic example.  It is also important to remember that hostility and discrimination not only comes from men but also from women.  In my experience, this has been the hardest to comprehend, particularly when we should be encouraging others.

I hope that my experience is of assistance to others and would be happy to answer any questions, should it help.

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In the next edition Rosina Thomas at Keating Chambers will share her experiences of becoming a clerk in the 2020s.