Barrister practice delivers double-digit growth
BJ Barristers, Browne Jacobson’s advocacy arm, has announced fee income growth of 18% to £1.8m for the 2019-20 financial year as it celebrates its 10th year of offering full barrister pupillages this month.
Launched in 2010, the the firm says the success of its pupillage scheme has been a “significant contributor” to its growth during which the team has also expanded from 3 to 20 strong, with 10 full-time barristers.
Pupillages have traditionally been offered through Chambers but under the Access to Justice Act 2000 law firms were authorised to host full pupillages and Browne Jacobson became one of the first law firms nationally to do so. Since it became an accredited Pupillage Training Organisation in 2010, BJ Barristers has taken on nine pupils to full qualification.
The team of barristers each have their own court practices and are managed professionally by a lead clerk with over 15 years’ experience in Chambers.
Fiona Butler, head of BJ Barristers, said: “Our decision to offer an in-house pupillage scheme a decade ago was a game changer and one of the key drivers behind our growth.
“We are structured and operate no differently from a traditional Chambers but have the added advantage of also being aligned to a national powerhouse.
“This enables us to take a more structured and efficient approach to supporting the firm’s clients by working hand in glove with our solicitor colleagues at the outset of a case.”
BJ Barristers acts for over 60 insurance clients, and in excess of 150 local authorities and a number of government bodies and healthcare organisations with clients including the Teaching Regulation Agency, NHS England and Hiscox, amongst others.
