What drew you to the Bar?
I was attracted by the opportunity to manage a business in the professional services industry and work in a high profile environment. I had some experience of the legal sector and a general interest in the law, having worked closely with corporate lawyers in the City. The Bar’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Senior Clerk role tends to be broadly based, incorporating not only business strategy, finance, IT, HR and PR, but also a significant amount of direct client contact, which I had enjoyed as a Relationship Director in my investment banking career.
What surprised you the most?
I was surprised that barristers tended to think of themselves as not particularly “commercial”. I have, in fact, found barristers to be highly creative in addressing a wide range of business issues. Why else have many chambers grown successfully over the years? I was also surprised to find that the “herding cats” analogy proved overstated. Barristers may be individualistic, but that is not so very different to other highly intelligent and driven professionals, whether in the law or, as was my experience, in investment banking. The “eat what you kill” mentality is quite similar.
How do you feel your previous experience helped you in addressing issues?
Working with board members of several companies over the years has made me appreciate the benefits of building consensus amongst independently minded people. This is essential in the collegiate environment of the chambers model. Furthermore, it has given me the confidence not to be afraid of challenging accepted thinking. Lastly, my training in the City was essentially as a fee earner and was deal driven – I like to see things through to conclusion.
Considering it was your first foray into the legal sector, how would you assess the freedom given to you as CEO?
There is a degree of freedom. For example, the day-to-day role is so broadly defined, it is possible to vary the mix of my workload. This undoubtedly adds to the interest – there is nothing routine in my role. However, there is probably less freedom than corporate CEOs enjoy when it comes to implementing radical changes. In chambers, it is necessary to have the agreement not only of the management committee, but also of a majority in chambers for changes to be implemented successfully.
What benefits has being an “outsider coming into the Bar” had on the two chambers you’ve worked at?
Coming to run a chamber from a different profession has had its disadvantages, as well as advantages. Many of the most successful chambers are run by highly regarded Senior Clerks and Chambers Directors who have spent their whole professional lives working for barristers. Their knowledge and experience is impressive. However, having gained experience in other environments I find I have a fresh viewpoint to offer, for example on chambers’ strategy or on solving issues. This has enabled me to introduce new ideas.
After five years, you moved from a leading common law set to Maitland Chambers, the top-ranked commercial chancery set. Why?
The move to Maitland Chambers provided me with the opportunity to work in the commercial end of the legal sector, in some cases with firms I had worked with in my previous career. Also, moving to a new chambers, whose business is in markedly different areas of the law, brought about a new set of challenges.
Although you would not admit this yourself, your impact has been felt widely across many areas of the Bar. What do you feel has enabled you to achieve such an impact?
I have been lucky to work for chambers that are highly respected and successful. In both cases, I believe their success has simply been down to talented barristers and staff doing their job well. I have tried to provide an environment in which that can happen.
Maitland Chambers is going from strength to strength. How have you found the last 12 months regarding the market conditions?
The volume and quality of new work has certainly grown over recent months, adding to a strong base. We believe this is linked to the economic downturn and the change in business and consumer confidence, which is having a knock-on effect on litigation. Typically, falling markets are created when corporate deals come unstuck, bamking and liquidity issues arise, professional negligence claims increase and fraudulent activity is uncovered. With our core practice areas we are well positioned to benefit from the increase in such disputes. The emergence of third party litigation funding may provide greater liquidity for pursuing claims, and the changes in the Companies Act may well lead to a rise in derivative actions.
What advice would you give to a chambers thinking of bringing a CEO on board?
Robert Graham-Campbell was interviewed by Guy Hewetson and Anil Shah, of LPA Legal Recruitment’s Barristers Chambers division, for Counsel Magazine (September 2008)