The Bar — meeting the needs of their international clients

The Bar has for many years, been an internationally oriented profession.

Andrew Langdon QC, Chair of the Bar Council of England & Wales

As the ‘common law’ originated in England and Wales, barristers have long been readily able to adapt in the jurisdictions of other Commonwealth nations.

Today, with the increasing globalisation of legal services and the diversification of practice, barristers of England and Wales practice internationally in numerous other fora, such as in international commercial arbitrations or international human rights tribunals. The number of barristers with international practices is consistently growing, and within every specialist area there are opportunities to develop an international practice.

As most English and Welsh barristers are self-employed, they are well suited to meeting the needs of their international clients, who are seeking the specialist legal services of an individual, named a barrister, rather than a large corporation.

Barristers are often perceived as specialist advocates who represent clients in the court room. But their expertise extends beyond that remit. Many work in-house in the legal teams of businesses up and down the country, providing vital support to UK plc. In addition, many barristers in private practice provide specialist legal advice to the business community.

Our profession, now 16,000 strong, provides vital expertise to the legal services sector, supporting our financial services, business and other industries around the world.

The number of barristers handling work for clients based overseas continues to rise and, in 2014, over 10 per cent of the profession received instructions from overseas clients. In the same period, the Bar’s international earnings grew by 9 per cent. Significantly, 30 per cent of the overall increase in the self-employed Bar’s earnings in 2014 came from international work. These figures understate the position — they do not include barristers who are working in-house as general counsel, for example, nor do they capture work on overseas matters for clients based in the UK.

The international work does by barristers has been on the rise over a decade as the profession’s global reputation grows. This growth in international work enhances the UK’s reputation as a place to do business, whilst many international financial, trade and energy contracts are based on English law, such is its global reputation. A report from TheCityUK showed that 27 per cent of the world’s 320 jurisdictions use the English common law.

Whilst most barristers are based in the UK, it is now easier than ever for international clients to reach a barrister, either via a barristers set of chambers, or, in some cases, via the Direct Access Portal, the Bar Council-backed online directory of barristers who can take instructions directly from clients.

The Bar and the Judiciary of England and Wales are key to the continued predominance of our law and jurisdiction as the world-leader in delivering an independent, effective and global legal services sector.