Life at the bar

Lisa Mills*

In June this year the Bar Assocation gathered together a group of members from different backgrounds, practising in different areas and locations, to ask them about their journeys and experiences in coming to the bar. These are their stories, collated and curated by Lisa Mills, Bar Association.

Paul Radich KC

Paul Radich KC took what some may describe as a traditional journey to the bar He went straight from university to working for national – early days, that meant doing everything in the law – criminal, traffic, family, plus a bit of commercial. Gradually, his practice focused primarily on commercial and public law litigation. When a group of friends and colleagues (including his wife Karen) collectively decided to set up barristers’ chambers in 2012, he decided to join them. After 20 years, it seemed the right time to leave the security of partnership.

Because of this career journey he was very lucky to already have an existing client base to tap into, including cases which stretched into the future. So, although he changed the nature of his practising certificate and his place of work, he was fortunate to have work momentum that didn’t stop. He readily acknowledges that his journey is very different to that of others who come to the bar earlier in their careers. However, when asked what would he do differently if he had his time again, his only comment was that he would have come to the bar sooner.

Currently, Paul speaks to people almost weekly who are thinking of coming to the bar, and everybody has the same apprehension: they have mortgages, family commitments, are often comfortable in a law firm, earning a regular income. They see a move to the bar as risky. They worry about their ability to attract work on their own. “In reality,” says Paul, “it generally only takes a few weeks to discover that there was nothing to worry about.” Paul admits this is easy for him to say, having come to the bar at a senior level, but in his experience even intermediate practitioners who come earlier to the bar are busy because there is a lot of work, and the bar is very good at distributing work among its members. “We all know each other and are aware of people coming in who could potentially do with some work and we are very good at referring work to each other.”

Paul’s current practice is now primarily public law. He acts for government and for Crown entities when they are challenged in their decision making and equally, on the other side of the equation, acting for people and entities who challenge public decision-making. Increasingly, a subset of public law is working in the Treaty space and, having done work in this area since the early 1990s, he finds this type of work now makes up most of his practice.

Paul enjoys the flexibility of life at the bar. Although he is still very busy, as a barrister he has the option that, if he does not have a client commitment or a fixture, he can just put a line though his diary and take a break. “It’s massively flexible. If you want to sleep in, take a long weekend – of course depending on the demands of your current clients – you can do that. Being at the bar cuts down the need to employ staff. Obviously, you can take on some admin people if you need to but, with technology as it is these days, there is not much need to employ people, and then you find you are really only answerable to your clients.”

Paul has learned that having a good work life balance as a barrister can be great, but you have to remember to regulate what you take on. “There is only one of you so be careful not to take on too much work. In a firm, you have a supportive team who can help by allowing you to spread the workload but, as a barrister sole, you need to get that balance right and, if you don’t, then your work life balancing act becomes counterproductive.

Paul encourages anyone thinking about taking the move to the bar to contact other barristers, buy them a coffee, chat with them, pick their brains, and to back themselves.

Iswari (Ish) Jayanandan

Iswari (Ish) Jayanandan moved to the bar relatively early in her career having dabbled in general practice first at a small firm in Auckland and later at a medium sized practice in Thames. Although she found the work interesting, Ish felt something was missing. In her search for ‘inspiration’, she realised what she was really looking for was ‘adrenalin’. Ish moved back to Auckland in 2004 for family reasons and jumped at the opportunity to be employed as junior barrister working in criminal law. Such opportunities were rare in those days, and she was surprised to be successful in her application. In her work as a junior criminal defence barrister, she found all the ‘adrenalin’ she was searching for, eventually moving on to practice as a barrister sole taking direct instructions in 2010.

Making the switch to criminal defence work was not a difficult or stressful decision for Ish as she was an employed junior and had the support of her senior. This career step gave her security and the opportunity to grow and develop her skills; by the time she went out on her own she was quite confident she could make it work. There was only a “short window of doubt – about 30 minutes”. When asked what she might do differently if she could do it again, she said perhaps she could have allowed herself a bit more time to set things in place rather than the hectic way in which she threw herself into her barristerial practice. Ish believes, however, that “fortune favours the brave, and that sometimes a leap of faith is essential.”

Ish’s practice is largely criminal defence work; although she occasionally represents complainants, and sometimes victims who feel they need help to get their story heard in court. She has recently started working on inquests which is a new area for her. She thought that Covid-19 may have made things quieter for her, but crime did not slow down, and she just seemed to get busier.

Life at the bar as a criminal defence lawyer is oxymoronic – you can experience solitude in a packed courtroom. "You can feel calm and excitement at the same time. It definitely is a rush of ‘adrenalin’. When you are on your feet making closing arguments to a jury for example, you are completely on your own – no one else in the room is on your side – sometimes, even your client is not in agreement with you! But you can always walk into the lawyers’ room and find someone to talk to who knows too well what you’ve just gone through. Collegiality is definitely a plus at the bar, with colleagues always available either in person or via phone to discuss a case or just lend an ear.”

The other huge advantage is the autonomy that comes with being a barrister. “The ability to decide for yourself what work you want to do, the ability to pick how many cases you want to take on and decline those you don’t have time for, which of course you cannot do if you are employed by someone else.”

Ish has learned how to achieve a better work life balance practising at the bar, but it was a process she learned from experience and was not a given. She admits it’s not easy and she got burnt before she found the balance that suited her. Pre Covid, Ish managed to balance her work and personal life by giving herself two months off per year, travelling overseas (only available to colleagues via phone or email for emergencies). She hopes to resume a similar pattern from 2024. She stresses the importance of having good self control with your diary noting this is not always possible at the beginning of a barristerial career. Ish warns against the danger of taking on too much and becoming “an adrenalin junkie workaholic”. But when you find your balance, the job satisfaction is inspiring, and if you are anything like Ish you will never look back!

Dhilum Nightingale

Dhilum has been at the bar for one year, following 22 years practising as a lawyer in firms and private and public sector organisations. The change has been hugely positive and successful and has allowed her to tailor her practice so it aligns with her values and vision: a just, inclusive and sustainable society where everyone is able to thrive and achieve their aspirations.

Before the bar, Dhilum provided resource management, employment and public law advice including at Buddle Findlay, Transpower NZ Limited and on contract to the Ministry for the Environment. Dhilum was also staff rōia/solicitor at Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley where she specialised in humanitarian immigration law and migrant exploitation advocacy.

Dhilum enjoyed the variety from these different roles but the mixed employment/contractor model did not give her the flexibility she needed to design each day as she wanted to. For example, having set days and hours in an employment relationship meant she had to turn away work contracts that clashed with those days. The decision to take the leap to the bar took some courage and was not without self-doubt. Dhilum did not really see herself as a barrister with a lot of litigation experience in the traditional sense. She reached out to some experienced barristers she knew, and their kindness and encouragement helped to dispel the imposter syndrome demon and gave her the confidence to make the move. One of the barristers Dhilum spoke to suggested she talk to the founders of Kate Sheppard Chambers (KSC), Aotearoa’s first virtual chambers, focused on supporting women to come to the bar. After Dhilum’s first meeting with Isabella Clarke and Charlotte Griffin she knew that KSC would provide her with the flexibility, collegiality and support she had been looking for. Dhilum is full of praise for the KSC model, “It lets me shape my practice in the way that works best for me, allowing me to work on the issues I care about and with ethnic and vulnerable communities – who are frequently let down by our justice system.”

KSC’s 22 current members (with more in the wings) are based all around Aotearoa from Whangārei to Invercargill. There is no hierarchy, and everyone respects each other’s varied and interesting practices. The barristers work independently but also share resources, refer work to each other where there are issues of capacity and conflict, and even tender for work together.

Dhilum is proud of KSC’s fundraising, donation, sponsorship and scholarship initiatives and values the shared ethos of the Chambers. “We support each other in our professional and personal lives and recognise and value that there are many ways of practising law as a barrister.” Not having physical premises has not been a barrier. Some barristers rent office space; others work where it suits them. Dhilum often works from her instructing solicitors’ offices or otherwise enjoys working from home where she has the flexibility to take her dog out for a daytime run or enjoy a mountain bike ride before catching up with her children after school.

Importantly for Dhilum, being a barrister gives her the space to grow, innovate and be able to accept new and interesting opportunities and look at ways of providing more holistic support for clients. Dhilum now has the freedom to wear many hats. She contracts as an Innovation Specialist at Creative HQ where she uses design-thinking tools to solve complex policy problems, particularly for the public sector; and she volunteers at Citizens Advice Bureau including as an employee advocate. Community Law Wellington & Hutt Valley instruct Dhilum on migrant exploitation and family violence immigration cases.

She is also currently working on resource management system reform for the Ministry for the Environment and has a range of other resource management work including from other barristers and community groups. Dhilum has recently been awarded a Borrin Foundation fellowship to look at ways of improving employer accountability in migrant exploitation cases. Alongside this, she is designing and developing an employer verification scheme through a 12-week Govtech accelerator programme at Creative HQ and hopes this will be a practical tool that will help to combat workplace exploitation.

Dhilum speaks frequently on panels regarding women and the law and the needs of vulnerable and marginalised ethnic communities. “This is why I wanted to become a lawyer,” she says. “To help people who struggle to have access to justice. For years I doubted whether I was in the right career. Turns out, the career was right, but the way I was practising it did not completely align with my values, nor did it allow me to realise the full potential of my practice. I am incredibly privileged to be on this path and feel so motivated and excited about work. KSC has turned my university idealism into a reality, and I love that.”

Dhilum’s strong sense of social and environmental justice, cultural awareness and sensitivity are guided by her Sri Lankan heritage and her place as tangata tiriti (people of the Treaty). Dhilum’s tikanga and mahi are shaped by cross-cultural values of karunawa (kindness), yuktiya (justice), anukampawa (compassion), rangatiratanga (self-empowerment) and manaakitanga (caring for and supporting others). Dhilum enjoys running with her dog Benson, cycling and tramping, and she guides vipassana meditation classes. She is training to be an Iyengar yoga teacher. Dhilum has three tamariki who are 12, 15 and 16 years old.

Augustine Choi

While at university, Augustine Choi expected his first move following graduation would be to Hong Kong, but family developments made that move unworkable. Meanwhile he had missed the opportunities taken up by fellow students to apply for summer clerkships in New Zealand law firms. It was not until his last year at university that he started looking for jobs in New Zealand, and being somewhat behind his peers he was unsuccessful. Shortly after this, Augustine was spotted by a law school contact while working at a local farmers’ market. He was offered a few hours of research work for a senior barrister at Bankside Chambers. This chance encounter morphed into a position as an employed barrister at Bankside Chambers for over six years before he began practising on his own account.

As with any unknown there were some fears, but Augustine’s background working in a supportive chambers environment meant he could continue to junior on cases as he grew his own client base. He believes there were real benefits to starting this way, surrounded by the right people and with time to build up independent work. He still regularly accepts instructions to junior as he believes there is always more to learn, particularly from exploring other areas of practice and seeing how more experienced members of the profession make decisions.

“As a junior you may have provided input and suggested ways to advise the client, but you had a senior to check and ultimately take responsibility for the advice and work. Suddenly you are working independently with your own clients, and you don’t have that check anymore; you are making those decisions. That can be a big change.”

Augustine’s work is primarily in relationship property and general civil disputes. He sees one of the real advantages of being at the bar is the day-to-day flexibility and control: the ability to decide what to do, how much to take on, when work is done, and what is charged. “If you want (or need) a break you can take one, without the confines of the usual four weeks a year most people get. Obviously, there are client expectations and court deadlines to manage and work around, but planning and good communication usually smooths those wrinkles.”

He feels he was very lucky to have started life at the bar this way, and to be able to continue doing cases similar to those when he was employed. But listening to his colleagues at the webinar, Augustine can see there are many other potential and equally satisfying paths to, and at, the bar, which he could have explored. Still, he is lucky. He is young and has plenty of time to continue to shape his career to suit him and because he is at the bar there is nothing to stop him from that pursuit.

* Lisa Mills is the Education and Events Director at New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture