Legal Tales | To be or not to be in chambers: that is the question for Hong Kong barristers
Working remotely has its benefits but war stories and wisdom – as well as drinks – are best shared in person
Barristers in private practice are self-employed – we are our own bosses and, theoretically, masters of our own time and working style.
There is no punching in or out for work and it is up to us whether we even wish to turn up in chambers on a given day. There is no year-end performance appraisal where your boss may want a word with you on your daily punctuality.
Some say we are the “original remote-working profession”. It may appear primed for remote working, but judging from my own experience, the profession that I entered a mere two decades ago was instead primal when it came to working from home.
Case papers would come in hard-copy bundles. If you wanted to read them, then they had to be with you – you needed big carrying bags and biceps to lug them home, but we barristers usually had only one of them.
Case authorities and textbooks would be hard copies on bookshelves in chambers (some more considerate than others by being in paperback). They were shared by all barristers in your chambers, so if you wanted to bring them home you had to be big, period.
Therefore, traditionally (read “archaically”), barristers tend to be in chambers, at least when they have work to do.