Barristers' specialist advocacy skills have seen the Bar extend its remit far beyond traditional national limits, says Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC

The modern day barrister is as likely to be boarding an aeroplane at Heathrow to represent a client in the Middle East or the Caribbean as he or she is to be catching the Eurostar to appear in the European Court of Justice, or indeed walking down to the local courts to appear as an advocate in a trial in England and Wales.

Similarly, a barrister advising his or her client as to the risks involved in a proposed business endeavour, or in relation to a child abduction case, is as likely to be providing that advice in a conference in London or Cardiff, be sending the advice by email or participating in a video link-up with Moscow or Singapore.

These changes are, of course, not unique to the Bar, or even the legal world, but barristers are able to offer a particular skill – that of the independent specialist advocate. Most modern barristers are both specialists as experienced advocates and as experts in a particular area of the law.

International work for the Bar is not new, but it has changed. It is no longer purely the preserve of the senior end of the profession. Increasingly, junior barristers are playing an important role, whether as members of a team preparing a case, as advocates in international arbitration, or on secondment to a law firm.

The market has become much wider in geographical terms. The Commonwealth remains a central aspect of the international work, but as borders have largely ceased to be a barrier to international business, so the opportunities have increased for the Bar.

These opportunities extend from advising foreign companies investing in the UK which need advice on the domestic legal system to representing parties investing in or buying from emerging markets which do not yet have an experienced legal market. 

Criminal element

It would also be wrong to assume that these opportunities arise only in the commercial world. Criminal barristers have for some time been a regular feature as advocates at the International Criminal Court and at international war crimes and crimes against humanity tribunals.

The recent financial fall-out has opened further doors, with overseas clients increasingly looking to the criminal Bar to advise on regulatory matters and cross-border fraud. The pressures facing the publicly-funded Bar has encouraged the criminal Bar to look increasingly overseas, where the expertise of such advocates is in high demand.

An example of a relatively new market for the Bar is the Commonwealth of Independent States. In a part of this area, Russia, an increasing number of commercial contracts provide for English law as the applicable law and/or English Courts as the dispute resolution forum. 

This has generated work for barristers as advocates, in arbitrations and the English court, and as experts or advisers in relation to disputes heard in Russian courts. One of the advantages of the Bar for overseas lawyers is the ability to tap into the knowledge and expertise offered without losing control of the case.

There is no doubt that the electronic world in which we live has made the Bar much more approachable and accessible, a trend that increasingly attracts overseas clients and lawyers to the Bar. So there is no reason why an Asian shipbuilder in dispute with a European oil and gas company can't obtain advice from a specialist barrister on the likely outcome of any dispute and the options going forward.

Making contact

Sometimes the route into the market is less direct. For example, in China, still a relatively new dispute resolution market, the hard work of barristers over the last 20 years as part of the Lord Chancellor's Training Scheme for Chinese lawyers is paying dividends.  Relationships built while talented young Chinese lawyers were seconded to chambers for three months has helped the Bar understand the Chinese market better and has led to opportunities in terms of work and contacts.

Contacts made through such educational schemes and links which many Asian lawyers have through the Inns of Court are proving invaluable in helping the Bar in markets which are otherwise not always the easiest for foreign service providers to break into.

The flexibility offered by barristers is something that the market, whether domestic or international, seems to like. Barristers are often instructed by solicitors on behalf of the client and are able to act as part of the team in this capacity, leading the advocacy or advising on a case.

Equally, they are increasingly instructed by overseas lawyers and clients directly – sometimes to provide advice on a particular issue, and sometimes to act as part of team in an arbitration.

The Bar, as a specialist profession, retains the ability to make a unique contribution in advocacy and advisory work in jurisdictions around the world. Its future is bright.

Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC is vice chair of the Bar Council's international committee and is a barrister at Atkin Chambers.