Ex-HR executive becomes tribunal advocate and barrister
Margaret Bullingham shows that career-wise anything is possible if you put your mind to it. With a background in HR at various companies including Volvo, she became an employment tribunal advocate in 1998. Finding that she enjoyed advocacy, she went on to do a law degree and the BVC and is currently doing a pupillage at Equity Chambers in her 50s. She talked to us about her varied career and how being an employment tribunal advocate can be the best of both worlds because it mixes the skills used by both solicitors and barristers.
mtl: Hi Margaret. How did you become an employment tribunal advocate?
Margaret: My first career was in human resources; I spent 15 yrs as an HR executive in several different industries. The common theme was advising management on employment issues, which are very similar in every industry. I spent a lot of time being involved in redundancies and ensuring that when someone was dismissed it was done fairly and didn’t end up in a tribunal. From there I set up my own HR consultancy which gave me more flexibility.
In 1998 I was a witness in a tribunal for one of the companies I was working for. The advocate representing us was extremely impressive and I remember thinking that I could, and would like to, do what she was doing. She had a law degree but hadn’t qualified as a solicitor or barrister and she kindly put me in touch with her employer, which is now Croner Consulting Ltd (the trading name of Wolters Kluwer (UK) Ltd), who told me all about tribunal work. Given my background in HR, my knowledge of employment law, and following an interview, Croner agreed to give me a trial. I took to it like a duck to water.
mtl: What sort of backgrounds do tribunal advocates have?
In the Litigation team at Croner, there were a number of solicitors who had come from private practice because they enjoyed employment law but also wanted to do some advocacy. There were also a couple of barristers. The original idea of Employment Tribunals was to provide an informal medium for claimants to bring complaints. However, over the years it has since become very legalistic and Counsel are often instructed now. The developments in discrimination law have had a lot to do with this.
Being an Employment Tribunal Advocate is the perfect job if you wish to combine advocacy with general litigation. In the Litigation Team, there were members who enjoyed the preparation for trial rather than the actual advocacy and others who preferred the advocacy. I was one of those who enjoyed the advocacy more so it was inevitable that I would choose the Bar route rather than training to be a solicitor.
In an Employment Tribunal, cases can run for two weeks (and more) with plenty of opportunity for cross examination, closing submissions etc. Skeleton arguments are now required for most hearings and the advocate also has the opportunity to make a number of applications at Pre-hearing Reviews and attend Case Management Discussions.
Generally the limit of compensation in an Employment Tribunal is now in the order of £60,000. However, the limit is not capped in discrimination cases (sex, race, disability, sexual orientation or age), so the level of compensation being sought by the claimant can well exceed these figures and it would not be unusual to be well over £100,000 plus.
Although the setting is less formal than the Crown Court, for example, many of the rules of evidence still apply and there is a lot to learn about the process. Employment Tribunals have their own rules of procedure.
A practicing solicitor with an interest in employment work would enjoy this job. And if someone with a law degree is not sure whether to go down the route of becoming a solicitor or a barrister, then Tribunal advocacy may help you decide. Up to the point of a tribunal, the work is predominantly what a solicitor would do, and after that it becomes more like the role of a barrister. The pay is also good, as are the benefits of working for a company such as Croner. |
Career timeline
1983-1998 Career in HR, including setting up an HR consultancy | 1998 Started to work as a tribunal advocate | 1993-2003 Part-time law degree, while working as an advocate | 2003-2005 Part-time Bar course, while working as an advocate | 2005 Called to the Bar | 2006-2007 Pupillage at Equity Chambers
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mtl: So how and why did you go from there to becoming a barrister?
Margaret: I found that I really enjoyed the tribunal environment (more than HR advisory work) and as a result decided to go another step in that direction and study a law degree part-time. While continuing to work as an advocate, I then decided to study for the BVC part-time. I really enjoyed the Bar course and found that there were a good number of mature students also studying it. The most difficult part initially was legal research as I was not quite as computer literate as some of my younger classmates. I think this was the only time when my age showed, but conquering it gave me confidence.
The next hurdle was getting a pupillage. I applied through OLPAS and didn’t get any interviews, probably because I didn’t have a classic background for going to the Bar. I then applied through the non-OLPAS route on the same website, which allows you to send in a CV plus a covering letter. This was much better for my situation and meant that I could sell myself. I went to a few interviews and was delighted to accept a pupillage at Equity Chambers, a set which focuses on employment and discrimination matters. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that, having been called to the Bar, I would actually become a practising barrister.
mtl: Some solicitors move to HR as a way out of law, but you’ve done it the other way round. Do you have any comments about HR as an option for lawyers?
Margaret: Again, I am sure that ex-lawyers would be snapped up given their knowledge-base. As an option, HR is hard work, rewarding and fun. I think the hardest thing for me was that in those days it was purely advisory. However, you can earn a huge amount as an HR director, and working for a company often means an attractive benefits package.
mtl: Having changed direction in your own career, do you have any advice for our readers?
Margaret: It sounds obvious but never say never. Everything is achievable. I would never have believed that I would become a practising barrister, and to be honest, I did not set out to be when I read Law. It’s just that once you embark on a change of career, then what is the point in doing it in “half measures”?! If you are prepared to work for something, it can be done and I do enjoy the work. I have seen a number of people come into it later in life; from medicine, construction and the police force. I think that a career at the Bar is particularly suitable for mature students as they bring life experience with them.
mtl: Thank you for your time Margaret.
Click here to see the website of Equity Chambers.
If you know any other lawyers who have gone and done something interesting or unusual with their lives or who have a great work/life balance then please get in touch.
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