header-logo header-logo

02 April 2015 / Catherine Calder
Issue: 7647 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail

Management matters

nlj_7647_calder

Catherine Calder explains why modern management is key for today’s most successful chambers

Much is written about the modernisation of law firms but rather less about management advances in sets of chambers. Speakers at the Global Law Summit and the Modern Law Conference last month barely touched on the Bar, which is not generally considered to be at the forefront of business developments in the legal profession. However, the Bar—which arguably constitutes the very first Lawyers on Demand service, established some 500 years before the BLP initiative—is gearing up.

Strategic approach

Most sets have now adopted a more strategic approach and many have imported managerial talent to take them forward. In illustration of this trend, three chief executive/director posts are currently advertised and the excellent Legal Practice Management Association, which caters predominantly for those in chambers managerial and administrative positions, now numbers around a hundred members. It is increasingly evident that first class management is vital for a first class set.

Some attribute the arrival of dedicated chambers management to a lack of business skills

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
back-to-top-scroll