"The longer I work at the Bar, the more I recognise that empathy and, in larger cases, collaboration and teamwork, are key attributes and skills. I have learnt a lot about these in my voluntary work. I feel that I am a better barrister because of my non-legal volunteering."
Nick Griffin, barrister at QEB Hollis Whiteman and Trustee at Conciliation Resources, speaks to us about how volunteering work has enriched his career and why he believes barristers often make excellent trustees.
What kind of volunteering opportunities have you undertaken, and why did you decide to do this type of volunteering work in particular?
My volunteering has in recent years largely been as a trustee on the boards of charities. I have discovered that the skills developed as a barrister are transferable to this kind of volunteering and, in turn, the experience I have gained as a volunteer has been of great help to my work as a barrister. Bar in the Community (BIC) very successfully capitalises on this.
I was for a number of years a trustee of the modern slavery charity, Anti-Slavery International (ASI). My interest in this area started when I heard a news item on the radio about a girl, who was then the same age as my young daughter, who had been taken from a village in India probably for forced domestic work, or worse. I was appalled, looked into the issue and found ASI online. I became a member and ultimately a board member.
I am now trustee of an excellent peacebuilding charity, Conciliation Resources. It is an international organisation committed to stopping violent conflict and creating more peaceful societies. Peacebuilding is not something I knew much about until I saw the role advertised by BIC! It struck me as being a fascinating and thoroughly worthwhile area and so I applied for the role using the details provided by BIC.
Why do you think people at the Bar should take on volunteering work outside of traditional pro bono work like advice and representation?
The skills we hone as barristers are transferable to many kinds of volunteering, whether in the legal world or not. For instance, the core responsibilities of a charity trustee include governance, strategy, advocacy (in the widest sense) and sometimes safeguarding. These are areas that are likely to be familiar to many barristers. Furthermore, our work at the Bar requires us to review evidence, capture the essential information and to create and deploy arguments in order to achieve a desired outcome. Independence and objectivity are at the heart of what we do, as is sound judgment. Those skills and attributes are directly relevant to the work of charity trustees and other forms of voluntary work.
And, in fact, there is often some link back to the law when undertaking these roles, even where the organisation in question does not relate directly to the legal world. This may be because of legal questions or disputes of relevance to the organisation (although you need to be clear that you are not providing legal advice in your role as trustee). Or it may be something more general. For example, my work for ASI was taking place when the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was conceived and then put on the statute books. ASI, and I, were involved in different ways during this process. ASI also works in the sphere of Business and Human Rights, which is an area of increasing interest to barristers (and, in fact, I am organising a weekend for Bar students on behalf of the Inner Temple on Business and Human Rights from 6-8 December 2024).
It is also rewarding and refreshing to meet, and work alongside, people outside the Bar and the law, from whom you can learn a great deal. For example, the Conciliation Resources Board includes people from a wide range of backgrounds, countries and disciplines, including the charity and NGO sectors and extending to a senior academic in War Studies and a former venture capitalist.
How has your volunteering work positively impacted on your career?
The longer I work at the Bar, the more I recognise that empathy and, in larger cases, collaboration and teamwork, are key attributes and skills. I have learnt a lot about these in my voluntary work. I feel that I am a better barrister because of my non-legal volunteering.
Do your Chambers support barristers and professionals who want to do volunteering work?
Very much so. I am at QEB Hollis Whiteman. Both as individuals and as a collective, we are engaged in a number of social and charitable initiatives. We are striving to play our part in ensuring equal opportunity and diversity at the Bar. Members of Chambers are individually involved in a wonderfully long list of different activities to this end. QEB Hollis Whiteman regularly encourages our barristers to volunteer their time to outreach programmes such as Bridging the Bar and Young Citizens Bar Mock Trial. QEB Hollis Whiteman also hosts the South London Schools Training Programme and Mock Trial and participates in the 10,000 Black Interns scheme.
Our barristers are also involved in a wide range of pro bono work, including with the Innocence Project, Amicus, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, Reprieve, numerous Inquests, investigations by JUSTICE, the Football Association, and many more.
However, we also acknowledge the needs that are present in other sectors of society. QEB barristers are engaged in and committed to a large variety of social initiatives and are also trustees for a range of organisations. There is more information about all of this here.
What is the most rewarding thing about volunteering work?
I have found my volunteering work to be immensely rewarding. First and foremost this is because you are helping an organisation accomplish its important task.
In the context of my work as a trustee, I have also found that there is an alchemy that can take place when you bring people from different backgrounds and disciplines together onto a charity board, whose strength derives to a great extent from those different experiences and perspectives. This has proved exciting to experience. It is something from which I have learnt a lot.
Interested in volunteering? Check out our current volunteering opportunities here and sign up here to receive regular updates on volunteering opportunities.