Barrister Practising From Abroad?
Hi All,
I'll give the background first, and then ask my question. I'm currently a junior barrister (practising) in the UK. I've posted previously seeking some advice on potentially leaving the Bar, having become quite jaded, burnout and outright disheartened. However, I found the responses really useful and made the decision to remain in the industry. I came to realise that I can (largely) control my life compared to many other fields, and there is a significant degree of flexibility. As part of that, I've been able to travel a more and see the world. On my travels, I've found somewhere that I would love to move to before I lose the chance to do so.
With all of that in mind, my question is this: can a UK barrister move abroad (for example, onto the European mainland) but still practise by maintaining a paperwork practise, or even attending hearings remotely? I wanted to see if there was a barrier in place which would prohibit that kind of arrangement. My initial thought is that it shouldn't be an issue in relation to drafting/paperwork (I'm less clear on the advocacy side of things) but I'm not 100% sure overall. Failing an answer to the above, could anyone be so kind as to give me a steer on where best to look, please?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
HP93
I'll give the background first, and then ask my question. I'm currently a junior barrister (practising) in the UK. I've posted previously seeking some advice on potentially leaving the Bar, having become quite jaded, burnout and outright disheartened. However, I found the responses really useful and made the decision to remain in the industry. I came to realise that I can (largely) control my life compared to many other fields, and there is a significant degree of flexibility. As part of that, I've been able to travel a more and see the world. On my travels, I've found somewhere that I would love to move to before I lose the chance to do so.
With all of that in mind, my question is this: can a UK barrister move abroad (for example, onto the European mainland) but still practise by maintaining a paperwork practise, or even attending hearings remotely? I wanted to see if there was a barrier in place which would prohibit that kind of arrangement. My initial thought is that it shouldn't be an issue in relation to drafting/paperwork (I'm less clear on the advocacy side of things) but I'm not 100% sure overall. Failing an answer to the above, could anyone be so kind as to give me a steer on where best to look, please?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
HP93
Reply 1
You can conduct your practice from anywhere in the world but most court hearings are conducted face to face, so you would limit your practice if you did not attend such hearings. You would need to remain insured and to maintain your practising certificate.
You could also be admitted to the Bar in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands on the basis of your English admission. You could base yourself in the Channel Islands for two years and take the Bar exam for Jersey or Guernsey.
You could also be admitted to the Bar in the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands on the basis of your English admission. You could base yourself in the Channel Islands for two years and take the Bar exam for Jersey or Guernsey.
Reply 2
There isn't anything in theory stopping you from doing that. You'll need to be clear on the tax consequences of actually living in a different country, but whilst there are restrictions on witnesses giving sworn evidence from abroad, those same restrictions do not apply to advocates, who can cross examine, make submissions etc from abroad without restrictions. The only other thing that occurs to me when I'm writing this is whether a practising certificate could be issued to a barrister who is not resident in the jurisdiction, but I don't immediately see why not. It'd just be something to check.
However, you may find it to be difficult in practice to live abroad permanently whilst practising as a barrister. You're absolutely right that you can do paperwork from abroad, and you can also attend remote hearings from abroad. But it would be a very rare practice that wouldn't require you to attend hearings or conferences in person on a reasonably regular basis. I say this as someone who actually probably has one of the more remote practices that a barrister can have. I spend a clear majority (probably over 75%) of my working days at home, doing paperwork, remote conferences or remote hearings, because all final hearings in one of the jurisdictions that I practise in most of the time are fully remote. However, those days that I spend in court are still important, because it is either longer trials or work that I'm doing for solicitors that send me my better work. It's very difficult from a practical perspective to build relationships with solicitors, and for them to see you as a reliable option for their work, if you don't do any or many in person hearings for them.
As much as I'm probably in one of the better positions to live abroad and still practise as a barrister, I'm not sure it would be feasible. If it was, I expect it would come at the cost of notable sacrifice for my practice. That may still be palatable for me (and you) from an earnings perspective, but I'm not sure how palatable it would be for Chambers. I have spent a long time building my practice up in Chambers and have an excellent relationship with my clerks, so if I went to them and said I wanted to do this, I expect they would facilitate it. It would probably be more difficult to do when you're first starting out though (say in the first five years or so), when you don't have an established practice in the same way.
If you were going to do this, you could only do it with the backing and support of your clerks, so the first port of call would be to speak with them, even if it is a hypothetical conversation at this stage. If you were to do this there would be a lot of practical considerations to figure out, and you would need the clerks to work through those. You obviously wouldn't have to commit to anything, so there shouldn't really be any harm in having that discussion and seeing where it takes you.
As an alternative, it is worth highlighting that as a barrister you can still take a lot of time off work whilst earning enough money to live comfortable and do a lot of other things like travelling. I have taken the decision in the last couple of years to take a lot of time off for holidays (both actually going on holiday and spending time at home) because I have small children, and I am going to continue to do that over the next few years at least. Despite taking at least 25% of my possible working time off (and probably more), my earnings are still comfortably sufficient for us to maintain our lifestyle and go on several holidays a year. Again, my practice is established enough that I do earn plenty of money for the work I do, even if I'm not strictly full time in a sense, and that again may be a little different when you're just starting out. It is an option to consider though, and whilst I appreciate you have that desire to actually move abroad, it's worth noting that an alternative would be just to take a lot of holidays.
However, you may find it to be difficult in practice to live abroad permanently whilst practising as a barrister. You're absolutely right that you can do paperwork from abroad, and you can also attend remote hearings from abroad. But it would be a very rare practice that wouldn't require you to attend hearings or conferences in person on a reasonably regular basis. I say this as someone who actually probably has one of the more remote practices that a barrister can have. I spend a clear majority (probably over 75%) of my working days at home, doing paperwork, remote conferences or remote hearings, because all final hearings in one of the jurisdictions that I practise in most of the time are fully remote. However, those days that I spend in court are still important, because it is either longer trials or work that I'm doing for solicitors that send me my better work. It's very difficult from a practical perspective to build relationships with solicitors, and for them to see you as a reliable option for their work, if you don't do any or many in person hearings for them.
As much as I'm probably in one of the better positions to live abroad and still practise as a barrister, I'm not sure it would be feasible. If it was, I expect it would come at the cost of notable sacrifice for my practice. That may still be palatable for me (and you) from an earnings perspective, but I'm not sure how palatable it would be for Chambers. I have spent a long time building my practice up in Chambers and have an excellent relationship with my clerks, so if I went to them and said I wanted to do this, I expect they would facilitate it. It would probably be more difficult to do when you're first starting out though (say in the first five years or so), when you don't have an established practice in the same way.
If you were going to do this, you could only do it with the backing and support of your clerks, so the first port of call would be to speak with them, even if it is a hypothetical conversation at this stage. If you were to do this there would be a lot of practical considerations to figure out, and you would need the clerks to work through those. You obviously wouldn't have to commit to anything, so there shouldn't really be any harm in having that discussion and seeing where it takes you.
As an alternative, it is worth highlighting that as a barrister you can still take a lot of time off work whilst earning enough money to live comfortable and do a lot of other things like travelling. I have taken the decision in the last couple of years to take a lot of time off for holidays (both actually going on holiday and spending time at home) because I have small children, and I am going to continue to do that over the next few years at least. Despite taking at least 25% of my possible working time off (and probably more), my earnings are still comfortably sufficient for us to maintain our lifestyle and go on several holidays a year. Again, my practice is established enough that I do earn plenty of money for the work I do, even if I'm not strictly full time in a sense, and that again may be a little different when you're just starting out. It is an option to consider though, and whilst I appreciate you have that desire to actually move abroad, it's worth noting that an alternative would be just to take a lot of holidays.
Reply 3
I kept my Practising Certificate and insurance active whilst I was based in the BVI for two years, working in an international law firm. I gave advice on English law matters whilst I was based in the BVI. During the lockdown, I did applications, trials, and appeals in the BVI Commercial Court and the East Caribbean Court of Appeal by video from London, but face to face hearings have since been been resumed in the BVI.
My current experience is that some hearings in English courts are conducted by phone or video but that most are in person, but I don't do the same sort of work as Crazy Jamie does. Most of my hearings are in the Business and Property Courts at the Rolls Building in London, with some in Birmingham and Manchester.
I currently spend a lot of time in Switzerland and work from there. Because I'm Irish, I could easily obtain a permit to live in Switzerland as a self employed person, and I might do that in the next year or two, and fly in to London for hearings. Or I could do the same from Dublin. You can be non-resident for UK tax purposes if you don't work on more than thirty days a years within the UK.
My current experience is that some hearings in English courts are conducted by phone or video but that most are in person, but I don't do the same sort of work as Crazy Jamie does. Most of my hearings are in the Business and Property Courts at the Rolls Building in London, with some in Birmingham and Manchester.
I currently spend a lot of time in Switzerland and work from there. Because I'm Irish, I could easily obtain a permit to live in Switzerland as a self employed person, and I might do that in the next year or two, and fly in to London for hearings. Or I could do the same from Dublin. You can be non-resident for UK tax purposes if you don't work on more than thirty days a years within the UK.
(edited 1 year ago)
Reply 4
Original post
by Stiffy ByngMy current experience is that some hearings in English courts are conducted by phone or video but that most are in person.
This is correct. The policy varies between county courts as to what is listed in person and what is listed remotely, but most county courts are overtly protective of their local area and will list a lot of hearings in person as a result. I say that from my experience both as an advocate and from sitting. Whilst some county courts will list certain hearings remotely (for example, courts that do a lot of Stage 3 hearings will often list them remotely, and some will list straightforward civil applications remotely too), anything even slightly substantial is usually listed in person now. Final hearings and trials almost always are.
The Employment Tribunal is different. Nearly all preliminary and interim hearings are remote in the ET now, and a decent proportion of final hearings are also remote. But the balance is also starting to shift with final hearings, and over the last year or two a notably larger proportion of those are being listed in person too.
So really, unless you do have a relatively niche practice like mine where you practise regularly in a jurisdiction that lists final hearings remotely, I think practically working from abroad may be difficult. If you practise regularly in the county court, I doubt you could sustain a remote practice without some serious planning and flexibility from the clerks. But as I say, you don't know unless you have that conversation with them.
Reply 5
Thank you for all of the really helpful comments and feedback. I'll have a chat with my clerks and go from there.
If needed, would you both be open to DMs?
If needed, would you both be open to DMs?
Reply 6
Original post
by HopefulPupil93Thank you for all of the really helpful comments and feedback. I'll have a chat with my clerks and go from there.
If needed, would you both be open to DMs?
If needed, would you both be open to DMs?
Yes. Feel free to DM me anytime.
Reply 7
Original post
by HopefulPupil93Thank you for all of the really helpful comments and feedback. I'll have a chat with my clerks and go from there.
If needed, would you both be open to DMs?
If needed, would you both be open to DMs?
Yes
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