Family Law

Mar 19, 2019, 17:53 PM

family law, A day in the life of, Rhys Taylor, Arbitration, TOTALA, family finance barrister, dispute resolution

or this new feature, we are asking a wide range of people who have links to the court system and family law to respond to the below questions and give us some information about what their role entails.

Slug : a-day-in-the-life-of-rhys-taylor-junior-family-finance-barrister

Meta Title : A day in the life of... Rhys Taylor (Junior family finance barrister)

Meta Keywords : family law, A day in the life of, Rhys Taylor, Arbitration, TOTALA, family finance barrister, dispute resolution

Canonical URL :

Trending Article : No

Prioritise In Trending Articles : No

Date : Aug 21, 2015, 07:15 AM

Article ID : 109813

What is your position and what you do on a day-to-day basis?

I am a barrister. I specialise in disputes about family money and property on divorce, death and unmarried relationship breakdown. I am something of a mongrel cross between a family and chancery lawyer. I rarely wear a wig. I spend more time at my desk and laptop than I do in court. About two thirds of my time is taken up out of court. I am mostly preparing for cases, seeing clients in conference (the barrister name for a meeting), attending settlement discussions, researching points of law and drafting advices or pleadings (documents which start certain kinds of civil dispute).

I came to the bar to be an advocate, but my particular field of practice means that sometimes the best service I can provide to a client is to find a way to avoid them getting anywhere near a court. I am a big fan of dispute resolution techniques to resolve matters out of court.

About one third of my time is actually spent in court. These days, written advocacy can often be as important as oral advocacy. Given the state of the court service, actually getting a carefully prepared case summary before the judge, prior to a hearing, often feels like half the battle.

There are three overarching skills to my job: (1) you need an eye for the detail (2) you need to be able to stand back and see the big picture (3) you need to be able to recognise the middle ground.

I am often asked socially what is it like to defend people you know are guilty – but I never step anywhere near a criminal court! In a divorce case (or, to be a pedant, the financial proceedings ancillary to the divorce) I am looking for a settlement which is 'fair'. On death I am asking what should be 'reasonable financial provision'. In a cohabitation dispute I am trying to establish what were the parties’ 'intentions' as to ownership of property. These are the most important words and concepts which dominate my working life. There is rarely one obvious 'right' answer to the problems which my clients face.

How long have you been in this role and what brought you here?

Despite having been at the job for nearly 20 years I am actually referred to as a 'junior' barrister. This is because I am not a QC. Many junior barristers remain so throughout their careers.

I was always fascinated by family law as a student, but unsure if it would be for me in practice. During my first-six month pupillage (the barrister name for a training contract) I spent most of my time crunching civil pleadings. Sometimes my younger self found it to be a bit dry. The barrister in the room next to me, Jill Walters, practised family law. Jill (who later, very sadly, died in her early 50s) was great fun and inspired me to love this work during my second-six month pupillage. The rest is history.

What are the people you work for/with like? Any memorable stories?

There is a revolving door of characters in my professional life. Barristers are self-employed individuals in a chambers (the barrister name for a shared rented office) and work for many different firms of solicitors and clients, as and when required. We are on the original zero hours’ contract. Different cases also take me to many court centres, so I see many different judges. Mercifully, time spent with difficult personalities is usually short lived.

The constant in my existence (aside from my wife) are my clerks. They run my diary, manage my foibles and make sure I am in the right place, at the right time and with the right papers. However, they are not secretaries and many people are surprised that barristers do not have much secretarial support and usually do their own typing.

Despite 'being in chambers' with other barristers, the peripatetic nature of our existence means that I may not see some colleagues for weeks on end. We often simply communicate by email. We are a competitive breed.

Memorable (and bizarre) story. The value of an asset is not always an indicator as to how hard it will be fought over: I was once faced with an argument about the parties’ extensive Country and Western CD collection. All the big stuff (house, pensions, etc) was agreed, but neither was for budging on the CD collection. Each said the other one had it. We were called into court and the deputy district judge surveyed the catalogue of music. Clearly a fan himself, he then proceeded to wax lyrical about some of his favourite songs on the list and what they had meant to him personally at different, memorable, moments of his life. From the corner of my eye, I could see the parties looking at each other. They were obviously each thinking (their faces were a picture), 'He’s barking mad!' and with a nod to each other they went out and settled their differences!

What is the best and worst part of the day for you?

Best part of the day – that moment when you know you have mastered your brief.

Worst part of the day – Evenings, about 7pm, to be precise. Barristers usually have homework to do. It can be hugely stressful knowing you have lots of work ahead whilst also trying to balance that with the demands at home.

What adjectives best describe you?

Single minded.

What keeps you motivated?

Self-employment!

Tea or coffee?

Tea (with almond milk please).

What would you say to anyone thinking of a career in your field?

Find a niche.

Work hard, there is absolutely no substitute for thorough preparation, however clever you think you may be.

Always send an email summary of what you have just advised in conference – you may have not been properly understood. If the case comes back months later you will be most grateful for the note.

Sadly, avoid legal aid.

What song do you listen to the most?

'I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For' by U2.

How do you enjoy your time outside of work?

Despite the job, I believe in the institution of marriage. I am lucky to be blessed with a happy marriage and have a busy family life with three young children.

I go cycling really early every Sunday morning with some friends. We stop at the same coastal café every week for tea and toast. The same collection of dog walkers, larks and cyclists are there every week. That’s one of the best bits of my week.

I’m a bibliophile. I have even been known, occasionally, to take a legal textbook on holiday; much to the exasperation of my wife. Obituaries are my favourite bit of the paper (the ultimate ‘case summary’).

I also attend a church.

If you could change one thing about the family justice system what would it be and why?

Cohabitation reform, every time. The plight of long-term partners , in their 'middle-years', who have never had their names on the legal title of a property is dreadful. Telling someone in their 60s they are in the financial position of an 18 year old is no fun at all.

---

Rhys Taylor has been nominated for the Family Law Commentator of the Year Award. You can find out why he was nominated and place your vote here.

Rhys is a co-editor of www.FamilyArbitrator.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @RhysTaylor32 and #civillawforfamilylawyers.

Join the conversation #familylawdayinlifeof

As part of this feature we are asking a wide range of people who have links to the court system and family law to respond to the above questions and give us some information about what their role entails. We hope to get a wide cross section of people - to this end, if you would like to contribute please email editor@familylaw.co.uk.

Categories :

• Articles

Tags :

Authors

• Rhys Taylor

Provider :

Product Bucket :

Recommend These Products

• Family Mediation
• Family Law

Related Articles