How a Leading Barristers Chambers Confronted the COVID-19 Crisis
Jane Bewsey QC of Red Lion Chambers explains how the pandemic has affected both the professional and personal lives of barristers.
April 22, 2020 at 06:48 AM
4 minute read
The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 crisis and the way that it has impacted and changed every aspect of our lives, both personal and professional, has been an enormous challenge.
By the time Boris Johnson announced at 8.30pm on 23 March that the country was being put into lockdown, Red Lion Chambers had anticipated that the measures were coming and started planning some weeks before.
We needed a fluid strategy to meet the fast moving and changing events. Lockdown meant that the courts effectively closed overnight. The work pipeline had been turned off and, with it, the income of many of our members.
We are a chambers of 109 members. Everyone's personal situation is different. We have senior members practising in their 70's; new tenants just months into their careers trying to get established; many members are sole breadwinners in their families; some have children now off school to home school. The challenges faced by Chambers and its members are difficult and diverse.
Weeks before lockdown was announced, we set up a Chambers Response Team (CRT) comprised of members and staff, to be responsible for safeguarding the health both physical and financial of Chambers, implementing any necessary measures and communicating action to members.
Home working for everyone was on the cards and the technology needed to be put in place and tested to make sure we could all cope. We had a successful trial run with the clerks working from home, answering diverted phone calls and managing the diary remotely. Everyone installed Microsoft Teams. The aim was to make individual and group communication as easy and seamless as possible.
The work pipeline had been turned off and, with it, the income of many of our members.
The CRT started to meet daily. Their priority was to address the perceived risks to the health and wellbeing of members and staff, and the threats to the incomes of individual members. Chambers is fortunate to have outstanding leadership from our joint heads of chambers – Gillian Jones QC and Antony Shaw QC – excellent financial management from our treasurers and a dedicated and professional clerking team led by Mark Bennett.
A plan was devised to meet the logistical and financial problems that lay ahead. So when the lockdown came, our systems had been tested and we were ready.
The personal impact
The personal impact of the crisis, though, went over and above the financial.
Individual wellbeing had to be placed front and centre. Every member had to be given a voice. With 109 members, a single chambers meeting was impractical, even using the wonders of technology. So the membership was put into smaller groups and the heads of chambers held a virtual meeting with each group over the course of a day. This gave every single member the opportunity to ask questions and voice their individual concerns.
Each group continues to meet weekly. These meetings are a great way of feeling connected with other members. Topics covered have ranged widely from the challenges of appearing in front of virtual courts to tips on gardening and home schooling.
Chambers has also instituted a weekly virtual pub quiz. The first session had 50 participants. An Easter quiz was circulated by email with prizes awarded to the winners. Members have commented that they were actually seeing more of other members during lockdown, albeit virtually, than they would in normal circumstances.
What have I learned? Having a fluid and dynamic strategy in place from before we needed it has been crucial. Keeping open the lines of communication for members and staff has been a massive positive. Finally, that I don't miss commuting on South Western trains at all.
Jane Bewsey QC is a fraud and corporate crime barrister at Red Lion Chambers.
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